Mass Effect 2: To Stand Alone
by fantasyra
Summary: Brought back from death by the greatest threat to the galaxy bar the Reapers to fight a threat no one will acknowledge. His only chance to succeed will be to assemble the deadliest squad of soldiers, technicians, murders, and psychopaths under his banner and lead them into the mouth of hell.
1. Aftermath

**Ye Old Disclaimer:**Mass Effect and associated milieu, characters, and situations are owned by EA, Bioware, Microsoft and their licensees. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended. They own it all, I am just playing with the Story. No money is being made by me in any way shape or form.

In addition, as this is a work of Fan Fiction, you will notice that I stray from Cannon as I please. I do this because there are aspects I enjoy that normally don't go with one direction or the other. If you are expecting a 'Cannon' rendition, be prepared to be disappointed. I plan to do my own thing here using what I want and adding in what I will.

Beta's:

Still running solo on this one. Hopefully I did all right. I have Beta'ed this story to the best of my limited ability. There will be mistakes, but I hope to have limited them so that it does not detract from the story too much.

**Chapter1, Aftermath**

'_What do you do with a Hero when the war is over and you don't need him anymore?' Remark attributed being made by Ambassador Udina to an unnamed Alliance Admiral._

Once the Mako came to rest inside the cargo bay he felt the Normandy's clamps secured the vehicles axles. Agile fingers expertly ran through the shutdown sequence taking the vehicles core offline and shutting down all but basic systems. Once done the pilot of the hulking vehicle gave the dash a pat for the smooth ride. So far this M35 operated about the same as the last one, or at least as well as the old one did before he and Tali got to tinkering with it. He really wasn't a great engineer, if he was honest with himself compared to their resident Quarian he wasn't even a poor engineer. However he knew which end of a Y-23 coupler was which and could string power cables with the best of them. Not to mention he really enjoyed the work. Building or fixing things had always been a hobby of his since he was a kid growing up on Mindoir. Something that served him well in those days of his childhood as well as later when he joined the Alliance. The man's soft chuckle echoed hollowly off the metallic walls of the vehicle. He doubted a 'Stock' M35 Mako would have made it through the Conduit. Thiers barely did. He really missed their old Mako but after the ride through the Conduit there was nothing left but to scrap the old girl. Shame really, she deserved much better than to be given up as salvage after the long campaign they shared. Campaigns through Therum, Feros, Noveria, that asteroid over Terra Nova, Virmire, Ilos and so many points in between that he couldn't count them without looking through the mission logs. _Thinking of which I have yet to get all those reports organized. Alliance command has been harping on me for weeks for the full 'detailed' campaign report over our mission._ The thought of the sheer amount of paperwork made him grimace._ Maybe later…_

He leaned back into the seat wondering how long it would take for the two of them to get this one adjusted to the same specs. A grunt escaped him as he remembered all the upgrades they salvaged from various missions and the costs of the other components they used before. It would probably take over five hundred thousand credits to acquire the same materials to do it again. Not to mention the hours they spent doing simulations and installments. There was a lot of transit time between missions doing repairs or upgrades to the old warhorse. The soft sigh that escaped his lips matched the smile on his face as he remembered the closeness he and the young Quarian girl built during those moments. It had been a long time since he allowed himself to get that close to anyone. Good times.

Of course, most of his ground team didn't appreciate the Mako the way he did. He chuckled to himself while picking up the data pad sitting in the copilot seat and unstrapping himself from the safety harness. Wrex loved the old machine remarking once that it was a 'soft human version of Krogan Tomkahs.' Ashley took it in stride having spent her time training with the type before but he noticed her knuckles got a bit white now and then on a few of the rougher terrains. Garrius and Liara hated missions that involved a lot of traversing in the tank and never had a problem voicing it. As far as Tali went, he still couldn't find a translation for that string of Quarian verbiage that represented her thoughts but by her tone he had a good idea what the gist was. The thing did have a tendency to bounce around worse than an Asari maidens breasts in Chora's Den during happy hour. But without all the pleasurable aspects most would expect from it. Still chuckling to himself he rose from the pilot's seat making his way to the hatch. He'd look into upgrades for the big tank later, maybe after the next assignment Hackett came up for them. He just hoped it was better than the last six they'd done. That or he got approval for the ship to dock for Shore leave. His people could use the time off.

As he stepped down from the tank he was broken from his musings by the man he didn't noticed standing just outside of the vehicle. "Anything new Commander?"

Looking over he gave a smile to his requisitions officer. "A couple of crates in storage curtsey of the _MSV Wallace_. Manifest allocations are on the inventory data pad for you. Sorry LT. Postle, looks like I won't be using your unique services this round. Unless you managed to get that bottle of _Talisian_ I owe Garris?"

What passed for their Quartermaster laughed as he climbed into the Mako. The man was an opportunist but at least he was _their _opportunist. The Normandy was about the only Alliance ship in the fleet where his unique talents would ever be appreciated. It wasn't like the Council or the Alliance was going to fund them. The only budget allocated for his crew was the pay for the Alliance personnel onboard and that took him almost two months of favors to Admiral Hackett to get it approved. The pay allocations for the non-human members of his crew came out of what they had taken to calling the 'Discretionary Fund'. Credits they got from selling surplus small arms, mods, or other bits of trade goods acquired during their missions. Oddly enough mostly liquidated through their 'Quartermaster' with new tech to Alliance R&D. The Geth weapons tech alone was a great payday they were still living off. Though that fund would dry up soon.

How in the hell the council expected him to complete his mission without any funding what so ever still boggled his mind. Then there was the fact that the Normandy, an Alliance Frigate no matter how much tech the Turian's poured into her, was under the control of a Council Specter and _that_ removed it from Alliance control. Something the Alliance was _not_ happy with. All pay for the human crew stopped, fast. When he inquired about it he was told by some self-important paper pusher that the Normandy was no longer classified as an Alliance Frigate, but 'Independent with strong Alliance Ties'. That left him to figure out how to keep things running, a situation that deteriorated when he talked to the Turian, Ovidius, at CSec Requisitions. There he found out Specters were expected to be self-sufficient, or supported by their races home government. It certainly explained what Saren was doing with controlling shares in Binary Helix. So, with no funding from the Council or the Alliance they had to make a few adjustments. Namely, either nothing got left behind on the battlefield or they had to take a few 'side' missions. At one point during some mission he couldn't even remember now Tali called his scavenging almost 'Quarian'. It was laughable how over a quarter of the Normandy's cargo bay ended up as either barrels of Omni gel, or crates of weapons and mods. But that's what it took to keep the Normandy on a paying basis. Fuel, food, crew pay, replacement parts, there was a surprising amount of things that required credits on a star ship. Marines like the fallen Cpl. Jenkins romanticized Specters, but from this side of the fence the reality was so much dirtier.

He was broken from his thoughts by the man in the Mako. His voice slightly muffled from the crate he was kneeling behind. "Next week sir. Turian Whisky is difficult enough to get through our regular channels despite some of the licenses you got for me but that particular brand proved interesting. I had to go through four suppliers on the Citadel before I found one who knew a guy who knew a guy that had one."

He chuckled shaking his head. Leave it to Garris to demand the hardest to find bottle of Turian hooch he could think of. "Figures. Keep me updated Mr. Postle. The faster I can get him his winnings the faster he'll stop gloating. He's been insufferable since the Battle when he beat me by one Geth in kills."

He waited for the customary 'Aye Aye' before he returned his attention to the data pad in his hand. He quickly scanned its contents taking in the essence but passing over most of the details. Quick flicks of his finger scrolled down the pages or opened new files to look through while he made his way to the Captains Quarters. Status reports detailing the various systems of the Normandy, details of the ground teams new armor and small arms allotments, ration stockpiles for the mess; both for their dextro and levo crew members, energy readings and various sundry lists. How he was thankful for Liara's organizational skills. Otherwise he would never be able to keep up with everything he needed to. At this moment the Normandy was better stocked and equipped than it was when they launched her before they moved on Eden Prime six months ago. Then again, considering what he paid for those supplies, it had better be.

_Six Months…_ Had it only been that long since this whole thing began? The Specter wondered what the next six months would bring. He seriously hoped it would be better than what they were doing now. It had only been three weeks since the 'Battle of the Citadel' as people were calling it. 20 Turian ships lost, two Salarian corvettes, and twelve Asari frigates. The Alliance lost eight. _SSV __Shenyan, Emden, Jakarta, Cairo, Seoul, Cape Town, Warsaw, _and the _Madrid. _Forty two ships to kill one Reaper and a small fleet of Geth and that didn't even account for all the surviving ships that were critically damaged. Thousands of lives lost, not including the casualty list of the civilians who died on the Citadel. For _one_ Reaper. That thought alone really brought the reality of the situation into focus for anyone who didn't have a Prothean Cypher burned into their brain. Not to mention the chills it sent down his own spine. He sighed despondently as he entered his cabin and sat at his desk rubbing his eyes. The latest communications from the newly minted Human Councilor Anderson was less than encouraging. It was the latest communique from him that had them orbiting Intai'sei at this moment.

One good thing about how they paid the bills was the fact they usually had far more credits than they needed. Now anyways. It was rough in the beginning but things fell into place after the first couple of months. It may have taken practically the entire mission but his squad was fully equipped with the best he could get his hands on. It wasn't enough, but it was a start. He was about to pick up where he left off on the data pad of never ending reports when the door to his cabin opened up and his XO walked in. He gave the older man a half smile and his attention. "Everything alright Staff Lieutenant Pressly? Joker behaving himself?"

The older man smile joking back. "Does Joker ever behave himself Commander?" Both men chuckled at the running jibe at their Flight Officer before his XO handed him the data pad in his hand. "Wrex left while you were on the surface on the trading Freighter _MSV Corsica_. Bound for a run to Tuchanka out of Pinnacle Station. He said you would understand."

A smile crossed his face while he nodded at the news. He'd been expecting it for some time. Since they dealt with Saren and Sovereign the old Battlemaster had talked of nothing else but his return to his people. To 'Revive what his Father tried to kill'. He hoped it all worked out for the war veteran and if anyone could do what he proposed, it was Wrex. Besides, a united Krogan under Wrex's banner would be a huge asset in the war against the Reapers. He was exceptionally glad they didn't have to shoot each other on Virmire. "I'm not surprised. I didn't think it would be long now."

They stared at each other for a moment before his XO admitted, "You know, before all this with the Saren and the Reapers started, I never thought I would say this, but I think I am going to miss him. I thought for sure we were going to have to put him down sooner or later but he's been invaluable part of the crew. Can't say I blame him however, our missions of late have been rather mundane compared to where we've been."

Shepard smiled at the new attitude of his XO. His views on non-humans were not something he tried to hide in the beginning. It was a welcome change from the standard Alliance baseline he used to walk. "Anything of note from the rest of the crew?"

His Staff LT pulled a second data pad and began looking through his logs. "Nothing pressing has come up while you were planet side Commander. Reports on the Ground Teams scores in Admiral Ahern's simulators have come in. As you would expect his own people are going to have a hard time in beating them. Garris and Wrex traded second place a few times before Wrex took Capture. Surprisingly Miss Zorah holds undisputed second in Survival. Admiral Ahern noted there was a lot of healthy competition by our teams to beat her but no one has yet and he doesn't think it likely. Miss T'soni holds second place for Time Trials with Chief Williams not far behind her. Garris and Chief Williams are tied for the Hunt Scenario. The Admiral noted here that it was a grueling competition between them but they both ended up with the same score and neither wanted to try again."

"He also sent a note of thanks for our work on helping improve his combat VI's. He stated our combat logs regarding modern Pirates, Geth, and Mercenary's was invaluable. We have more firsthand knowledge for combating Asari, Turian, Human, Geth, and Krogan than most other units and he didn't have to bribe any of his fellow Admirals to get the clearances to 'Black' files for it. Especially the Geth, he was very pleased with our reports on how the Geth fight. He stated the Alliance has already started putting together a rotation for Marine and our N detachments to train for a few weeks to a month before rotating out to live assignments to give them a taste of what to expect."

Shepard smiled very pleased. He'd been a Specter for no more than a day before he got the invite to hit Ahern's simulators. He didn't actually take him up on the offer until after they picked up Liara and he realized that his Ground Team was lacking in real experience. Tali was a fantastic Engineer but she was not a great solider. Add in the fact that one suit puncture was almost a death sentence and it worried him greatly. Ashley was just naturally good but all the ground backwater garrison postings for being a 'Williams' left her lacking in live fire skills. Liara was just pitiful. A scientist and researcher, no matter if she was 'only one hundred and ten' didn't equate an experienced combatant. Even Garris could have used some time improving his skills. CSec didn't fight the kind of garbage they found themselves knee deep in on a regular basis. They didn't have any other leads at the time so he put in port here to get everyone up to speed. He worked them hard and in the end it had paid off. It made them all better to share the action reports with Ahern and it kept them sharp while they were waiting on leads to find Saren. The fact each member of his Ground Team was second only to his scores was a great accomplishment. "Chief Engineer Adams finished his campaign report on the Tantalus Drive Core's performance. We put the ship through her paces far more than a standard shakedown and she came through for us exceeding design specs across the board better than anyone could have hoped. Between Chief Adams and Miss Zorah there is more than enough data to keep the techs busy for the next year."

Shepard nodded pleased with that. He'd received no less than sixty messages over the last few weeks from the R&D techs that built the Normandy shifting from begging to threatening him for that data. It was good to not have to dread checking his mail and seeing another one. He listened while Pressly continued. "A few altercations among the crew. Nothing serious mind you. Just tensions running high sir. It's the lull after the excitement of the last few months. Nothing a week of shore leave wouldn't cure."

"Understandable. I think we can arrange for the crew to get some time off. I've again sent a request up the chain last week but I haven't heard from Hackett about getting clearance for it yet." He replied with a grimace. He'd been putting in for that clearance since before the first assignment after the battle. "If we don't get it soon or after our next assignment I'll just put us in port somewhere and claim 'Specter' rights."

"Well, nothing along those lines has come in yet sir," He smiled seeing the look of discomfort on his XO's face. He'd come a long way since this whole thing started but he would always be an 'Alliance Man', as he once said. The chain of command was as much a part of him as his DNA. The man may have helped him steal the Normandy but anything short of a Reaper more than likely wouldn't get him to go against his nature. "…but we did get a communication from the Fifth Fleet."

"New orders in from Hackett?"

Pressly nodded to the data pad he had given him earlier. "Geth sighting at Messier 17. Admiral Hackett wants us to investigate the area and clean out any Geth we find. Apparently several ships have disappeared in the area and the Alliance would like us to check it out."

A frown crossed his face while looking over the data from the pad his XO gave him. "More Geth sightings…" the Specter mumbled to himself while he looked at the projected sweep patters. Same mission, different location. _As the vessel with the most experienced crew in combating Geth, you are ordered to investigate sightings of Geth activity in the…_ Every mission since the Battle was the same. Go here, look and destroy reported pockets of Geth, await new orders. He raided his eyebrow at the new tidbit he found. "Any idea why their sending us into the Terminus Systems of all places? We don't even have any colonies in the Omega Nebula Systems. Even if we did, most colonies don't want Alliance assistance, that's why they're in the Terminus in the first place and not in the Attican Traverse or the Skyllin Verge." It just didn't make any sense to the Specter. He couldn't even get permission to hit the Mu Relay since it led into the Terminus during the hunt forcing him to steal the Normandy and now they're giving him orders sending him there.

"No sir. The dispatch just stated we were to make way to that star cluster and do a sweep and clean of any Geth we find. Personally I have my credits on Slavers. The Terminus is littered with them." Pressly promptly replied.

He nodded thoughtfully agreeing with his XO. "Slavers would make more sense but this specifically mentions reports of Geth activity of the type we dealt with in the Armstrong Cluster…" That was the only new dimension to these orders over the old aside from the location.

Some of his misgivings must have bled through is voice as his XO next statement showed. "Concerns Commander?"

Shepard was quiet a moment while mulling the mission through his mind. "Something just doesn't sit right. With the losses we took defeating Sovereign I don't understand what Command is thinking of sending us so far out into territory we don't even control. This assignment is more bizarre than the last six we've done. At least those were here in Citadel space. It's not like the Alliance ever really cared about our colonies over there before, but now with our fleets reduced they're sending us out there. It just doesn't make sense."

"I don't understand it any better Commander. Orders?" Shepard shook his head. Pressly was the perfect Alliance XO. Kept up on every detail of the ship's crew and was abreast of just about every facet of every system in the ship, but he would never be accused of 'thinking outside the box'.

He leaned back into his chair sighing while rubbing the bridge of his nose. At worst they would spend the next two weeks in transit time and doing worthless surveys. At best they would actually find Geth and they would get a chance to use the shiny new armaments he just acquired. He just couldn't help but think this whole thing smacked of 'make work' for his crew. He'd been getting the feeling for the last few weeks that the Alliance and the Council was trying to keep him occupied and more importantly out of their hair while they did whatever it was they were doing. Whatever that was it didn't look like perperations for dealing with the Reapers. Then again he also understood it took time to mobilize for something like this. Ships had to be built, crews trained, new tech developed. He just hoped they had the time to spare because as it stood right now, they just weren't ready. The battle with Sovereign proved that quite clearly. "Get Joker to set a course for the Omega 1 Relay. I guess we have work to do."

Pressly gave him a sharp salute and nod. "Very good sir. I'll get us underway and let you know when we arrived. Did you wish to use the Admirals flight plan for the sweep?"

Commander Shepard looked once more at the mission plan frowning. A full minute passed before he nodded handing the data pad back to his XO. "That's fine. Just make sure the Stealth Systems are fully engaged at all times once we're through the relay. No matter if its Geth or slavers I don't want to them to see us coming."

'_There has never nor will there ever be a Specter who's hands are completely clean. Yet, up until I entered the Omega Nebula I spared lives when I could, brought the guilty in to be tried for their crimes, and ran the Normandy to a code of conduct one would expect from an Alliance Frigate. Minus a few minor deviations such as our 'salvage' operations as well as some of the crew regs. I think that is why I didn't trust my gut and question our orders more. That was a mistake I haven't made since.' Excerpt from Commander Shepard's autobiography, 'Notes on the Run'._

**Authors Note:**

First things first. I am putting a call out for BETA's. I've tried sending out messages to registered Beta readers and no response. What I am looking for are people to act as a sounding board who are willing to pick apart the story with me, help with grammar mistakes and sentence structure, as well as just about all things in the story. I am posting both done chapters now, if you're interested in helping and getting in on this with me, PM please. At the least I am interested in getting in contact with people who are interested in talking about the fic and helping me explore various aspects of the game and how it will eventually be rendered into this story. Thanks for thinking of it.

Thank you all for reading and Please Review.


	2. Rough Awakenings

**Ye Old Disclaimer:**Mass Effect and associated milieu, characters, and situations are owned by EA, Bioware, Microsoft and their licensees. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended. They own it all, I am just playing with the Story. No money is being made by me in any way shape or form.

In addition, as this is a work of Fan Fiction, you will notice that I stray from Cannon as I please. I do this because there are aspects I enjoy that normally don't go with one direction or the other. If you are expecting a 'Cannon' rendition, be prepared to be disappointed. I plan to do my own thing here using what I want and adding in what I will.

Beta's:

Still running solo on this one. Hopefully I did all right. I have Beta'ed this story to the best of my limited ability. There will be mistakes, but I hope to have limited them so that it does not detract from the story too much.

**Chapter2, Rough Awakenings**

'_I see the sadness behind your eyes. It tells a story that makes me want to weep. Pain and loss making your skin tough as the scales of any turian. Unyielding. A wall between you and everyone else. But it drives you to protect the innocent, makes you strong enough to punish the wicked. It is that strength that people are drawn to. You never hide your strength, either. It serves you well. Terrifies your foes. Few will dare to stand against you. It is why you lead, and others follow, without question.' Sha'ira's Gift of Words to Commander Shepard._

_Pain_. It felt as if every firefight he'd ever been in was being felt throughout his body. When he opened his eyes to try and may sense of what was happening to him he was blinded by a pure white light that made him nauseous. He slammed his eyes shut against the glare. _What the hell is going on?_

"Shepard!"

The words rang like a cannon shot from the Mako. The single word regulated to a loud booming noise that drove all thought from his mind becoming nothing more than icy daggers through his brain compounding the pain even more.

"Wake up Shepard! You need to get out of there!"

_Breathe. _He thought remembering his special ops training. _Breathe, push the pain down. Focus your mind. _He disregarded the moan that came from him as he tried to sit up as nothing more than a slight slip in his control. Training, instilled into him until it was practically a knee jerk reaction took over. His body moved to his will, reluctantly, grudgingly but it moved. This time when he opened his eyes the lights were less blinding. Even as the focus of his vision shifted, doubling or even tripling afterimages as his head moved about trying to understand what he was seeing. He was on a raised bed. Next to him was what looked like a computer terminal and he could feel tubes flopping into his arms. Some sort of clear fluid was dripping from several bags into the IV lines attached to several cybernetic ports in his arms that he didn't remember ever having before. Hospital. He was in some kind of hospital. The last thing he remembered was talking to Tali at the mess table as she was teasingly teaching him Keelish while working on compiling the mission reports. Now suddenly he's in a hospital.

He was also completely naked. He felt the room shutter from what he assumed was an explosion somewhere. _That's not good…_

"Damn it Shepard you need to get moving! Wake Up Damn you!"

He blinked a few more times as his eyes started to function closer to normal for him to see strait. He definitely was in some kind of hospital room. The voice shouting at him was cultured, educated and very frustrated. Who ever she was she was not the kind of person who was used to being ignored. "W…What…" He started to say but ended up choking on the rest. His throat raw as if he hadn't spoken in a _very_ long time.

At hearing something from him the relived and authoritative voice started again. "Thank God you're finally awake. Look, I know you're not ready yet but you need to move. This facility is under attack and you're not safe there. Follow my instructions and I'll get you to the shuttle. To the right of your bed you'll find a set of cloths. Get dressed quickly and get out of there."

Shepard's confusion was winning the war for his attention over his pain. He managed to get himself into a sitting position. He just lowered his legs to the floor when the room shook and he could hear the distant sounds of another explosion mixed with the faint screams of someone. Whatever was going on, it sounded like it was getting closer. "I don't understand…"

The voice cut him off before he could finish. "There's no time Shepard! You have to get moving. There are large concentrations of security mechs making their way to your area right now. Hurry up and get out of there!"

He could very faintly hear the sounds of weapons fire from somewhere. It didn't take him long to disconnect the IV feeds to free him from the machine next to the bed. He lurched over to the cabinet and pulled the promised clothes and dressed. This entire situation had to rank as the most bizarre of his life. His mind was almost completely focused inward as he dressed hurriedly paying no attention to the cloths he donned. Something happened that put him in a hospital. Whatever it was required extensive cybernetics if the slightly glowing bits of crimson over his flesh were anything to go by. Once finished he took in his appearance in the small mirror that rested on the inside of the cabinet's door. His hair was longer reaching down to his shoulders and almost obscuring his eyes. The scar that ran practically through his left eye looked raw, almost as if it was freshly made instead of being a relic of the last days he spent on Mindoir.

Once done his feet drunkenly carried his body toward the door as he took stock of himself. If the voice was to be believed, he was in danger. A hostile force was assaulting the hospital he was currently recovering in from wounds he didn't even remember getting. He was unarmed and there were no weapons in sight. Shepard raised his arm to bring his Omni tool up so he could check his Omni gel reserves when he received yet another shock. His Omni Tool was broken, or he didn't have one anymore. A quick check under the dermal plug on his forearm showed that invaluable bit of tech was indeed absent. Cursing to himself he raised his hand to open the door speaking the first coherent sentence since waking. "Where's my Omni Tool? What is going on and who are you?"

The door opened with its accustomed 'whoosh.' He checked down both hallways but didn't see any of the hostiles the voice spoke of, but the sounds of intermittent gunfire rang louder. "You don't have an Omni Tool yet Shepard. It wasn't due to be installed until Tuesday. Turn right and keep to this hallway until the next junction. And my name is Miranda Lawson."

_Installed._ Like he was some kind of a machine or advanced VI system. The way she emotionlessly delivered that statement sent a chill down his spine. He quickly shook off the feelings the implication gave him for the moment. Answers were going to have to wait, at least until he figured out what to ask. "Alright Miss. Lawson." The more steps he took the easier it was. The stiffness and pain in his body had already started to fade greatly allowing his movements to be more fluid. "That doesn't answer my question about what is going on."

As he entered a T intersection he waited for instructions. "Left Shepard. I don't have time to give you every single detail of the current situation Commander. I'm rather busy trying to keep the mechs from getting access to your route to the shuttle."

The dismissive nature of the woman was starting to grate on him. His words showed more than a touch of his frustration. "I'm not looking for details on everything going on, but I would settle for why this hospital is under attack, and why I am here."

Lawson's voice was quiet for a moment while he navigated the long hallway before eventually coming to a locked door. "That is a complicated narrative Commander. Sufficed to say I am trying to keep you alive. I will answer your questions later, but right now we need to get off this station. Through the door Shepard."

The doors lock disengaged allowing him to enter. It looked like a lab of some kind. Several terminals set up in a couple of rows with a few stations on a raised platform to his right. Most of the terminals were dark. He took a few steps when he heard a muffled metallic whine come from the other side of the room only moments before the woman spoke again. "Damn it! Take cover Shepard! Three mechs just activated in the storage room at the other end. I'll try and disable them on this end but it might take me a moment. Just grab some cover while I attempted to bypass their firewalls."

As the door opened he upended one of the work desks with is foot planning to use it for cover. He didn't feel the usual spike of pain that normally came when he concentrated on his implant while he manipulated a protective mass effect field around it. Unlike the vids he knew from personal experience tables didn't have a seemingly indestructible resistance to gunfire. Very little did against the insane velocity of mass accelerated rounds. He just managed to get behind it when gunshots started impacting the surface putting in noticeable dents. His reaction time was not fast enough however to avoid the first units initial shot that grazed his left arm. Reacting on instinct he reached within himself and directed a complicated series of mass effect fields which seemingly grabbed the leading figure. A jerk of his arm flung the robotic assailant through the air crashing it directly into his cover. The figure gave a comic twist of its head to look at him before he grabbed it with his hands bringing it over to his side. This time his right arm burst in a chaotic whirl of dark energy for just a moment before he crushed the things head into the floor. The flesh of his fist tore through metal and circuitry as if it was made of paper.

Slow careful targeted shots rang steady against his cover while he breathed a sigh of relief that at least his implant was still working. Things would be a lot more complicated had the situation turned out differently. Besides, he was NOT looking forward to the surgery's he would have needed if something had happened to it. He just ducked from assessing the distance of the last two when he noticed the mechanical unit was still clutching a pistol in its hand. Its fingers gave easily when he pulled the weapon from its grip and instantly he felt a great deal less helpless.

"…Alright you bastards. Round two." He muttered to himself.

His form became distorted in the black, purple, and blue field that would keep harm from him. He leaned over the top of his cover and put two rounds into the head of the closest mech. The shower of sparks and debris announced the second hostile down while he continued his assault fixing the second in his sights. However he only got one shot before the appropriated sidearm gave a dull thunk and ceased working. A quick biotic push threw the last unit into the wall with enough force to shatter its chassis. John sighed as he leaned his back weakly against the table. He was tiring way too quickly, how long had he been unconscious? He hadn't felt this weak from using biotics since he was a kid.

With no other threats in sight he lowered his eyes breathing heavily. "What the hell?" he asked himself while looking down at the pistol he liberated. It looked like a Striker, maybe a seven by the decal but he noticed several differences once he started looking. The most startling and troubling that caught his attention was that the entire coolant system was missing which would allow the weapon to expel and vent heat. In its place he found an empty aperture. He couldn't even see where the ammunition block was located on the thing.

He was broke from his assessment by the faceless voice that represented the only person he had yet to come in contact with since waking up in this bizarre situation. "Sensors read that all mechs are down Shepard. Impressive. Why are you not moving? I may have mentioned before that we need to get out of here as soon as we can."

Shepard shook the ache in his skull away. He couldn't tell if the slowly building pain was from his biotics or from the situation he found himself in. He looked around the lab in confusion before he answered. "I took a pistol from one of the automated hostiles. It doesn't work now. The weapon is missing its ammunition payload as well as a coolant system. Who the hell sends in a solider, even a synthetic one, into a conflict with a weapon that can only fire a few times?"

The sound of the woman's voice chuckling irritated his confused state. "I would have thought you'd of all people would have recognized that little technological innovation Shepard. It uses thermal clips. Look around for a small cylinder; it will most likely be illuminated a bit. Now hurry, there's not much time left. I am not sure how much longer I can keep the mechs from overwhelming your position."

He slowly leaned over to the mech he hammered into the floor finding several of the objects she was talking about attached to the things chassis. "Exhaustible heat sinks were a Geth innovation. Are you seriously trying to convince me these things are Geth?"

He slotted one of the clips into the pistol and nodded when the readout bar filled green. "No, these units are not Geth but VI assisted Private Security Mechanized Infantry and they are everywhere on this station. Twenty Questions really should wait until we can get off this station Commander. You're just going to have to trust me. Now go through the far door, I've unlocked it and…"

While the woman was talking his hand rested on the right chest plate of the mechs chassis. There was an insignia he recognized from several real, and very disturbing, encounters. It made his blood run cold as the realization hit him. Cerberus. Once he started looking for it he could see it everywhere. On the floor, the walls, every active terminal bore the same symbol. The mechs were Cerberus, yet so was the hospital. So the question was, was he caught in the middle of some sort of bloody civil conflict or did someone else hack the system and use their own resources against them? And how did they manage to get their hands on the Geth Tech he sent the Alliance? The last communique from Alliance R&D projected it would still be months before they managed to replicate it.

He was about to interrupt the woman and get answers one way or the other when the com system suddenly burst into static and gunfire. He could hear her cursing before there was a sudden ear ringing noise and all sound was cut. He looked around the quiet lab with his fist slowly tightening on the pistol. More questions than he could count churned through his confused mind. However, he was certain of one thing. Something bad had happened and he was deep in hostile territory. There were no friendlies around him, only hostiles and unknowns. He took a deep breath before rising and stepping forward keeping the pistol ready. He was absolutely sure he was going to need it before he managed to get to the promised shuttle.

Falling into the ebb and flow of combat was easy to do. Battle was simple. There existed two sides in any conflict and this was no exception. There was your side and the enemy's side. There were no nebulous questions to answer. No confusion to get in the way. The enemy fired at you, you fired back. The enemy died, you lived. Easy, simple. In the case of his current situation it was even easier to figure out. Each hallway stalked brought him closer to the escape shuttle. Biotics were kept to waves of force and the barrier he kept around him at all times since he was lacking any kind of Kinetic Barrier. Simple, effective and devastating against the simple minded VI mechs he slaughtered with little care or concern. Several times he caught glimpses of various techs being butchered by mechs but not a thought was spared for their fate. To date he had never met a Cerberus Operative that could ever be described as 'innocent'. Nothing witnessed so far changed this opinion.

When Shepard came across the man who introduced himself as Taylor he didn't stop for small talk. A well placed Mass Effect field burst into the balcony across from theirs scattering the mechs like litter in maelstrom. When the door opened again letting in a second squad of mechs they were met with the same explosive field. The man introduced himself after his surprise passed at seeing him walking around and that was it. Shepard could tell he wanted to say more but he cut him off asking if he knew the way to the shuttles. He nodded and led the way which was fine by him. The Cerberus logo on his sleeves was all the info he needed to know about the man and until they got to the shuttles everything else was going to have to wait. As much as he would have rather shot the dark skinned human, two guns were better than one alone. Especially as the packs of mechs were getting thicker.

The same happened when they picked up the man Wilson. Taylor slapped some medigel on his leg for the gunshot he received and they continued onward. Nothing stopped them and only a few mech packs slowed them for more than a moment. In what had felt like a very short time to him they were finally standing in front of the doors that would let them get to the shuttle.

It didn't take long for Wilson to hack the door open. The Kodiac shuttle thankfully sat in the hanger not far in front of them however his focus seized on the woman who stood just in front of the doors. John raised an eyebrow at the, for lack of any other description, absolutely gorgeous woman in front of him. Thick luxurious black hair shown proudly in the artificial light in the hanger hanging down her back. It contrasted magnificently with her unblemished light skin tone. Her face looked as if it was sculpted by an artist tasked to render all things feminine into one female face. From the delicate curve of her eyebrows to the fine lines of her face. Even her outfit showed her assets in the most favorable fashion to the point he momentarily wondered if she put on that outfit or if she was somehow poured into the thing. At Choras Den on the Citadel he saw Asari Maidens wearing more, and most of their outfits were painted on them. The only thing detracting from the image was the Cerberus decal on her shoulder that declared her allegiance.

And that was when the woman in the tight outfit that looked as if she crawled out of some marines wet dream, shot Wilson. His body had barely hit the floor before Taylor shouted at the woman. "What the fuck Miranda? Why did you shoot Wilson? We've known him for years!"

Shepard however couldn't care less about Wilson's death. One less Cerberus Operative to deal with. He did appreciate having a face to match to the voice that woke him up. He knelt down confirming the man was dead but kept one eye on the two in front of him. Attached to Wilson's belt was his personal Kinetic Barrier generator. Shepard removed it placing it on his own belt ignoring the static burst around him as the shield activated. It didn't take him more than a moment to eject the man's Omni Tool. He took in the two inch cylindrical bit of tech. It was a Logic Arrest Tool made by Ariake. Not his old Savant but better than nothing. Shepard inserted it into his own port with no more thought on the matter. Lastly he picked up the man's pistol before rising to his feet.

While he was appropriating the dead man's items he listened to the two before him. "Wilson was a traitor. It was his access code that hacked the mechs and turned them on the station."

"Are you sure about that Miranda? Wilson's never shown anything but dedication to the project…" asked Taylor before he interrupted them.

"Shuttle?"

Miranda responded to his question with a slight nod of her head and quick quirk to her lips. "This way Shepard."

"Miranda…"

He grabbed Taylor's shoulder and gave him a light shove to the shuttles earning him another quirk to the woman's lips and a frown from Taylor. At seeing the stubborn look in the mans eyes he gave an ultimatum. "One shuttle left. I'm leaving on it. Now. You want to argue with her? Fine, do it on the shuttle or I'm leaving you both here."

He tightened his grip on the pistols in his hands. The other man gave in with a disgusted sigh before stomping to the shuttle. Miranda just gave them both a half amused smirk before following him with Shepard behind both. He weighed his options going forward. Traveling with two Cerberus Operatives didn't exactly appeal to him but he needed answers and he was willing to bet he could get them from these two. At this point he didn't have anything to lose.

He let them enter the shuttle first. Miranda took the helm while Taylor took the co-pilots seat. While they brought the engines online and navigated the shuttle out of the dock he took stock of himself again. His pain levels were a lot lower than when he woke. Barely a baseline annoyance in the back of his head now. He had two pistols, an Omni Tool that would more than likely require a few hours to go through to figure out what Wilson's load out on it was, and thankfully his own Kinetic Barrier system. Compared to an hour ago, he was a lot better off.

The shuttle moved expertly through the barrier of the dock and into the blackness of space away from the station. The two Cerberus operatives continued their bickering over Wilson's fate. From where he stood behind their seats he could see by the readout it would take an hour before they hit the relay. He waited for a few more moments for Lawson to set the auto pilot that would put them on a course before he made his move.

Slowly Shepard brought the two pistols within an inch of each of their heads and well within their own barriers without their notice. A trick he learned and employed on more than a few shadow ops during his early days as an N7 Operative. He lightly nudged both of them with the barrels of the weapons to get their attention. By the way both of them suddenly stilled he knew he had it. "Answer time."

From where he stood he could see the woman's eyes dart over the display in front of her hovering hands and knew instantly what she was thinking. He would have done the same. "You're welcome to try. I'm just as interested to know whether you can jerk the shuttle enough for my shot to miss as you are. The question is how fast you can key the thruster and will it be faster than I can pull these triggers that are already inside your barriers. Will it be enough to merely graze you or will one or both die for the effort? Even if you're fast enough that still puts us in a battle inside the tight confines of this shuttle. Two of us are biotics so how much damage can we cause to the circuitry in our bid to win? I'm betting on more than enough to cause a lot of problems for the one left standing."

He gave the woman credit. Her voice was cool when she spoke. "You have a funny way of showing gratitude Commander."

Shepard couldn't help the smile that slowly inched along his face. "Yeah, I'm a bastard like that. You should have seen what happened at my last surprise birthday party. So how about we do this nice and friendly like. Barrier generators unclipped and over your shoulders. Guns too."

"And if we don't?" Taylor asked him.

"We do this the unfriendly way. I don't trust either of you and until I get some answers, neither of you are sitting there armed."

He kept his eyes on Lawson. She was the biggest threat at the moment and would be until she lowered her hands from the controls. "This really is unnecessary Shepard. We are on your side."

"The last Cerberus Operatives that I came in contact with tried to kill me. As a matter of fact, every single one of your operatives has tried to kill me. An occupational hazard when you blow up a half dozen of your groups operations. So pardon me if I don't find your words very reassuring Miss Lawson. If you're not a threat, kick back your shields and guns to prove it. Then we can have that talk you promised me. Otherwise you're going to have to kill me to get these weapons down. Clocks ticking, what's it going to be?"

Both winced when he mentioned Cerberus. The tense moment partially broke when Taylor sighed while doing what he asked. He lowered that arm but kept it ready in case he changed his mind. Miranda turned her head in surprise as the man's generator and pistol went over his shoulder and into the back. "Jacob?"

Taylor shrugged. "He's not going to trust us or listen if he expects us to shoot him. Can't say I wouldn't be doing the same thing in his position. I doubt he's going to shoot a pair of unarmed people for the hell of it Miranda and besides, we put too much work into this to screw it up now. I can vouch for the Commanders combat ability's personally. It's his show."

Miranda frowned before she rolled her eyes sighing in disgust as she disarmed herself. Once done he took a few steps back and lowered himself into the bench seat finally lowering his own weapons but keeping them at his sides in easy reach. Both turned their seats around so that they all sat facing each other while the shuttle slowly cruised along.

He looked directly to Miranda. "Let's start with why I was in that hospital and why it was being attacked."

The confidant woman raised an elegant eyebrow while folding her arms across her chest. "The attack was to stop us from healing you, or so I would imagine. As to why you were there that answer is simple. You were being treated for injuries you sustained."

"I don't remember getting injured so how did that happen and where does Cerberus come into this. I've destroyed a lot of Cerberus ops in the last few months. Somehow I can't see your organization feeling all warm and fuzzy about that or me."

Lawson frowned thoughtfully. "What's the last thing you remember Shepard?"

"Sitting in the _Normandy's_ mess just after arriving through the Omega 1 Relay."

She turned her chair slightly to face the man next to her. "Complete loss of short term memory engrams. We didn't anticipate that as being a problem with how well preserved the specimen was after recovery." Taylor nodded slightly but Shepard frowned at the way she was talking about him. He waited for a moment while she turned to face him again. "That was just over a full week before you died. We'll need to conduct further tests to see if there are any other gaps in your memory…"

"Wait, I _died_!?" he half shouted in surprise.

Neither of them seemed affected by his outburst. Miranda's reply was collected and measured when she spoke. "Yes. The Normandy was destroyed over Alchera in the Amada system of the Omega Nebula. You were spaced during a battle with an unknown ship and we recovered your body some time later. The Lazarus Cell has been working for over two years to revive you."

He looked to Taylor to see him nod confirming Miranda's story. "Believe it Commander. I've been with the project since the beginning. First time I saw you, you were nothing more than meat and tubes. Cerberus has devoted insane amounts of resources to rebuild you. Billions of credits, latest experimental cutting edge tech. I don't know the specifics but I've known Miranda for three years now and she was project lead for our Cell. You can trust what she says."

"So what, I'm some sort of advanced Shepard VI then? A goddamn clone? What did you people do to me?" he asked disbelievingly.

Unfazed by his outburst Miranda answered him coolly. "No. The Illusive Man wanted you brought back exactly as you were before you died. Great pains were made to fulfill that directive. Of course we had to make a few improvements in your rebuild. Cutting edge and fairly extensive cybernetics, experimental nanotechnology, and yes, a few cloned organs were used but the majority of you, for lack of a better term, is you. Skeletal reinforcements were necessary for some areas of your structure due to your condition. To compensate we used nanites to re-weave and strengthen your remaining bones to match. With increase in bone density we needed to maximize your muscle capability's to compensate. It was a balancing act, so to speak, to get your muscles and skin tissue just right so you didn't harm yourself by simply scratching your nose. If you're looking for the precise details of every procedure we performed in the last two years you're going to need to narrow your questions to specific instances."

Shepard felt his heart hammering away within him at the answer. Cybernetics never really bothered him before, it was standard for any Alliance solider and even more so for Biotics. What she was telling him though was far more than what was necessary for an Omni tool or his L3 implant. The terrifying thought of how much this reminded him of Sarens 'upgrades' was clamped down on before it could dominate his thinking. "Keelah…" He ignored the looks from the two at his choice in declarations. The cold and factual way Miranda spoke didn't surprise him any but it didn't make any of this easier to take in. A few moments of silence was eventually broken when he looked back up. "You said the Normandy was lost. Did anyone else make it out?"

The look Jacob gave him was easily identifiable by anyone who ever lost people in combat. "Twenty people are listed as missing or KIA including XO Pressly. The others were mostly from the lower decks which reports state was hit first. A few made it to escape pods including the non-Alliance personnel. The Turian, Asari, and the Quarian."

_Fucking hell. The Normandy had a crew of thirty people… _Two-third of his people dead, the Normandy destroyed, and he was spaced. Two years of his life gone and no telling what the fuck he was now. None of it made sense. He let out a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. _At least the team made it... Tali made it. _"Why?"

"Commander?"

He clarified. "Why spend billions of credits to bring me back? Why go through all the trouble? After everything I've done to shut Cerberus down, why the fuck revive _me_?"

Taylor shook his head. "Dunno Commander, that question is way above my pay grade."

Both of them turned to Lawson who was still sitting with her arms folded. "The answer is simple Shepard. You are the best chance humanity has to survive what's coming. If you want more information than that, you will need to speak to the Illusive Man. He has those answers. That's where we are heading now if you're curious."

Shepard leaned back into the seat while also picking up his pistols again. That broke the woman's facade as both of them stiffened in their chairs at his actions. Her voice when she spoke was carefully neutral. "Commander?"

He matched his tone to hers giving nothing away. "I am going to think about this for a moment and then I am going to decide what to do with you two." He could tell by looking in their eyes they knew precisely what one of the possible outcomes was going to be. The Cerberus Operatives looked at each other before turning around knowing he was done talking.

The ship he defeated a Reaper and Saren with was destroyed, most of his crew killed. As apparently he was with them. Then two years passed. An organization that he went out of his way to destroy, one Cell at a time if that was what it would have taken, spent untold resources and billions of credits to bring him back from the dead. Cerberus, the avowed enemy of every alien race in the galaxy and human terrorist organization revived him. Him, the Alien Sympathizer as the Terra Firma party called him more than a few times. To do so they poured more tech into his body than a Dreadnought. Shepard looked to Lawson. The woman definitely had a chip on her shoulder. She might not appear as fanatical as other Operatives he came across but she was defiantly as cold. Taylor however, aside from his allegiance could have been any solider in the Alliance by how he acted. _What a strange day…_

Shepard leaned his head back closing his eyes. They had a reason, an agenda. Cerberus always did. They were ruthless in the application of their methods to achieve their goals. Every thought in him told him to kill these two and make strait for the Alliance. His gut however told him different. His instincts told him there was a lot more going on than there appeared to be and he needed to know what that was. Whether this was his own thought or something they programed into him he wasn't sure which led him to his current predicament. All he knew for sure was that things were not adding up and there was only one person who could answer his questions. He wasn't sure how long he struggled but by the time he came to his decision the relay was just ahead. The Cerberus Operatives were half into programing their relay jump when he spoke. "I'll see your 'Illusive Man'." Both jumped when his voice shattered the tense silence.

Lawson answered him. Her relief clearly evident in her voice. "Understood Commander."

He could see Taylors shoulders sag just a bit. Their relief lasted only until he started talking again. "If I'm not satisfied with his answers, I'm shooting my way out of this facility. Starting with you two."

The next three hours was spent in a tense silence neither of the Operatives were brave enough to break.

'_Being freshly risen from death I made a conscious decision in that shuttle ride to talk to the Illusive Man. It was no longer my job to blindly jump feet first into hell. Only to make sure it was crowded when I got there. If need be, I'd start here.' Excerpt from Commander Shepard's autobiography, 'Notes on the Run'._

**Authors Note:**

First things first. I am putting a call out for BETA's. I've tried sending out messages to registered Beta readers and no response. What I am looking for are people to act as a sounding board who are willing to pick apart the story with me, help with grammar mistakes and sentence structure, as well as just about all things in the story. I am posting both done chapters now, if you're interested in helping and getting in on this with me, PM please. At the least I am interested in getting in contact with people who are interested in talking about the fic and helping me explore various aspects of the game and how it will eventually be rendered into this story. Thanks for thinking of it.

Thank you all for reading and Please Review.


	3. Hard Reality

**Ye Old Disclaimer:**Mass Effect and associated milieu, characters, and situations are owned by EA, Bioware, Microsoft and there licensees. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended. They own it all, I am just playing with the Story. No money is being made by me in any way shape or form.

In addition, as this is a work of Fan Fiction, you will notice that I stray from Cannon as I please. I do this because there are aspects I enjoy that normally don't go with one direction or the other. If you are expecting a 'Cannon' rendition, be prepared to be disappointed. I plan to do my own thing here using what I want and adding in what I will.

Beta's:

Beta'd with the help of Player4ever and Materia-Blade.

**Chapter 3, Hard Reality**

'_Subject has exceeded physical expectations for this stage of his development across the board. However I am not as optimistic about his mental state. In the short time the Subject has been awake he has demonstrated highly aggressive tendencies. Whether this is due his knowledge of our Cerberus ties or is the result of undiagnosed brain damage remains to be seen. Once again I recommend sedating the subject to surgically implant the X765 Cybernetic Control Chip as was outlined in my prior update.' _

'_Request Denied.'_

_Conversation between Project Lazarus Lead Miranda Lawson and the Illusive Man._

Miranda Lawson watched as the accumulation of two years of her life walked down the stairs to the Quantum Entanglement Communications device this station utilized to talk to the head of their organization, Cerberus. The twitch in her right eye that had been driving her mad for the last three hours continued as she silently fumed. Eventually, herself control could no longer contain her ire as she unknowingly hissed aloud. "Oooo that ungrateful bloody infuriating _man_…"

The only other survivor of the Lazarus Cell, Jacob Taylor, chucked at her discomfort. He didn't even appear the least bit repentant when she cut her eyes to him. "What did you expect? Personally I'm just happy he didn't shoot us without asking questions. That was always the risk Miranda."

"Anyone else would have been appreciative if not downright grateful of our efforts." She stated annoyed.

He nodded. "Anyone else wouldn't be Commander John Shepard. The Illusive Man wouldn't have spent the money he did for anyone else and you know it."

"And are you going to feel that way if he walks out of that meeting firing at us Jacob?"

The dark skinned man shrugged one shoulder seemingly indifferent. "Don't see how I'm going to have much choice in the matter if he does. You might think Cerberus can do no wrong Miranda, but I know better. So does the Commander."

"I will grant that some projects have used rather extreme means to achieve our goals. However the ends justify the means in every case. Even Shepard has to see that in the end." Miranda rationalized.

"Tell yourself that all you want Miranda, but I don't see you convincing Shepard of it. And totting that party line isn't going to stop him from shooting us if that's what he decides to do. Just hope the Illusive Man has some luck convincing him to the cause. Otherwise we're never going to get to the bottom of those missing colonies."

XxXME2XxX

The small dull room dissolved around him as the unexpected holographic environment shifted. The room it became was something that reminded him of the villains lair out of every B rated vid Joker ever forced them to watch during their down times on the old Normandy. The floor consisted of a sea of reflective black panels. As did the walls and ceiling except for the forward wall he was facing. It was a either the largest view screen he had ever seen or a view port overlooking the chaotic swirling reds and blues of a star in flux. Sitting in the middle of the room was a human who wouldn't have looked out of place at a high society fashion ball on Earth.

His greying hair and nondescript features gave him the appearance of just about any playboy who could be found at that event. Glass of some sort of liquor in one hand and a cigarette in the other he appeared relaxed, cool, and in control. Behind him a variety of view screens could be seen feeding him information on who knew what. However Shepard wasn't looking at the star, the room, or even the consoles behind the man. He was looking at the man's eyes. They were definitely cybernetic implants. Something about them sent chills down his spine. Before he could put his finger on it, the man spoke. "Shepard."

"Illusive man."

"You look well. Better than I was expecting all things considered. How do you feel?" the strange man asked considerately.

Shepard crossed his arms still holding the pistols he realized he wasn't going to get to use yet. "You have to earn the right to ask me those kinds of questions."

A slight tug at the man's lips gave away his apparent amusement at the reply. "Despite what you may think of me or Cerberus we have always and will always have Humanity's best interest at the core of our beliefs. I would have thought our efforts on your behalf would have shown you that. Especially considering our history."

"It's going to take a hell of a lot to convince me to forget about the experiments your people conducted. Most of them on humans. The incident on Akuze cost the lives of at least fifty soldiers alone according to Tomes. Or did you really want me to bring up the fact you killed an Alliance Admiral on top of that after duplicating that Threasher trick and killing his men? Or your experiments involving Thorian Creepers, Rachni, or even husks?"

The Illusive Man sat unfazed. "I am willing to admit that some of our project leads may have exceeded their mandates. However I don't make it a policy to micro manage my people. I find the right people for the job and then supply what they need either in credits or facilities. I give them clear goals of what I expect them to achieve and then tell them to get it done. Incidents such as you mention are unfortunate and yes; they skirted ethical as well as moral concerns. I won't deny that, but they still served their purposes. Invaluable research endeavors despite the outcome or what you or anyone else may think. Sometimes sacrifices are necessary for advancement Shepard. No great discovery in our history has come without cost. Cerberus understands this. Look at you. We brought you back when everyone else left you for dead. Some people would have thought that going too far, but here you are. A prime example of what we can do, what we are willing to do to safeguard humanity. As you yourself know, someone has to make the hard decisions to win a war, and a war is what we are facing. A war of unparalleled dimensions against an opponent of incalculable power."

_The Reapers…_ "So what makes me so important?"

Shepard watched as the man before him took thoughtful drag on his cigarette. "You're unique. You believe in the threat as so few do. And the Reaper threat is very real Commander. In the last two years you have been…sleeping nothing has been done about this threat to humanity. The council has declared Sovereign to be nothing more than a very advanced Geth Dreadnought. The entirety of the Eden Prime War, in reality everything you have accomplished in your hunt to bring down the rouge Specter Saren was swept under the rug. Even the Alliance refuses to see the truth that our time is running out. The Reapers are coming, and no one is willing to do anything about that. Except for Cerberus."

He waited in silence while the Illusive Man took a sip from his glass. The silence only disturbed by the sound of the ice rattling in his cup as he set it down. "If nothing else I think we can agree to disagree on most things, but not the threat the Reapers represent. I was hoping that perhaps we can work together if for no other reason than to safeguard our common interests."

"It took over forty ships to defeat Sovereign at the Battle of the Citadel. For the cost of putting me back together you could have replaced those ships and trained their crews in the last two years."

The greying man nodded his head. "True but this is not a war we are going to win with ships and soldiers. At least not entirely. We don't know how many Reapers are waiting out there in Dark Space and we don't know when they will strike. Judging by recent events however, I estimate it will be in the next year."

Shepard frowned. "What's been happening to make you think that?"

Several screens sprung into existence around him while the Illusive man explained. "We have lost over a dozen colonies in the last two years. Whole colonies. All of them in the Terminus systems. One moment they are perfectly fine and then comm silence. Now that can sometimes happen, especially with the prevalence of slavers and pirates in the Terminus however when the Alliance or Cerberus has investigated we found a shocking trend. Everything was still there, expect there were no people. Vid screens still on, even meals laid out half eaten. No evidence has been found to who is behind the abductions or how it is being done but the ramifications are frightening."

Shepard looked through each of the screens frowning. "All human colonies? Are you sure there haven't been losses for the other races that have settlements in the Terminus?"

"Of course. The Alliance is either unwilling or unable to do anything about this. The other races of the galaxy couldn't care for the disappearance of a few human colonies. You can bet it would be different if it was theirs, but that is the way it is. So it is up to us to stop them."

"I haven't decided I believe you much less that I'm willing to help you do anything." John stated firmly.

"Honestly if you had I would have questioned it. However I am here to assure you that Cerberus stands ready to do what is necessary to end the threat to our colonies and to the Reapers when they show. We brought you back to help humanity Commander. I don't know if the Reapers can understand fear but you killed one of them. They must have at least respected that considering we have unconfirmed theories it was their agents that were sent to kill you personally. Tell me what we can do Commander to show you we are firmly on the same side, and it's done."

Shepard thought for a moment. "Give me a shuttle and time to check out your story. I think you're underestimating the Alliance and the Council. You can't just expect me to take your word for any of this and merely just go along with your directives."

The man actually laughed but Shepard didn't allow any emotion to form on his face at the unexpected outburst. "It is refreshing to deal with a man of your caliber Commander. You are right; I don't just expect you to do that. However, you are going to find out that I have been very upfront with what I have been telling you. We both want the same things in this, to defeat the Reapers. Neither of us wants to allow our colonist to be interfered with and there is no telling what is happening to those who have been taken. In these goals, we are fairly allied. The shuttle you arrived on is yours for however long you need it. If I find anything or if something happens I will contact you directly and fill you in."

"I also want all the information on what was done to revive me. Unedited."

"Of course. Miranda will have that waiting for you before you get to the shuttle."

Shepard's eyes narrowed at how easy this was. "Your pretty trusting I'm going to come back."

The man spoke again while putting out his cigarette. "Despite your understandable mistrust Commander, Cerberus stands with you and I hope in time, you will see that. I don't expect you to trust us now. Trust takes time. One of us has to be the first to take that step and I have my faith firmly on the fact that once you see for yourself what I have been telling you, you will see the advantage of allying with Cerberus. Such an alliance can and will greatly outweigh our past history."

XxXME2XxX

The shuttle slowly lowered itself downward to the small unused landing pad. He looked out the forward window to looking at the prefab house that didn't look like anyone lived in it for years. His assess code still worked when he punched it in which he was thankful for. Ahern had set this place up in the middle of nowhere on this planet and in the last two years it didn't look like much had changed as far as the colony went. His assessment was confirmed when he entered the building and watched as the power grid took a few moments to engage for the lights to come on. The houses VI's voice broke the silence a few moments later with the feminine tones that for some reason every VI programmer felt the need to use.

"Organic presence detected. Unscheduled delivery and or admittance. Identification Required."

"John Shepard access code X56E UIW8 5324 TE89."

"Identity confirmed. Welcome home Commander. You have 1,567,987 messages awaiting your attention. In addition you have one delivery from an expected courier delivered two years and four months ago that has not yet been inventoried or claimed waiting for you in storage. Error. Organic food stores spoiled. Pantry contents unaffected. It will take approximately one hour to cycle and purify available water sources for organic consumption and use. All other systems are functional."

Shepard chuckled to himself while walking though the room to the terminal at the end. He sat at the desk to do the extranet search he came here for. During the hours to get here he did a few on the shuttle but there was no telling how far Cerberus would go to fool him and there really wasn't any harm in double checking. After an hour he confirmed just about everything the Illusive Man told him. Which surprised as well as disgusted him.

Lack of evidence to confirm his 'accusations' led to the current party line. Officially the Council has ruled the Reaper threat to be a 'Misunderstanding due to poor intelligence'. Sovereign was ruled as a Geth construct with Saren as their controller. Political pressure both within the Alliance and from the Council itself shut down any but the barest of attempts. Specifically one team was sent to Ilos to try and confirm his story but the VI was gone. With only the mission reports and eye witness accounts of his team to prove the Reapers were real it was easily ruled as unsubstantiated and therefore inadmissible. It was, and still is a hot topic in some circles. c. The Council disavowed anything to do with the Reapers as nothing more than propaganda spread by deranged ex-Specters. Humanity has its seat on the Council now but that doesn't mean it was sunny days and roses for Humanity. The prestige of having a say in Council decisions has gained Humanity a great deal of political as well as economic power. However he could see there were a lot of people who didn't want to rock the boat to disrupt the current status quo. As he looked through the various news feeds and reports he could see the underlining fact that if Humanity wanted to keep its seat on the Council with the prestige and privileges it gave, then whey would need to go with the community. It all boiled down to unless the Council says the threat is real, no one will do anything.

He also managed to confirm that there have been a few instances of colonies going dark. All have been ruled as acts of slavers or pirates bands. So far only Human colonies had been affected so it has been ruled as a Human matter. Since humanity was now a Council race the Alliance's hands were tied since everything has been happening in the Terminus. There were more than a few nasty articles detailing the apparent knowtoeing being done by the Alliance to the Council now on that very issue. They've done what they could to secure human colonies in Council Space but that was the extent of their reach within the current climate.

It was bitter pill to swallow.

"Enable Specter encryption key AE8956470. Establish long range communication with Councilor Anderson at the Citadel. Priority, Omega-Black." Shepard spoke aloud.

"Establishing connection... Stand by."

Shepard nodded. A quick movement allowed him to eject Wilsons Omni Tool from his arm and insert it into a read port fixed to the terminal. He brought up a filter program Tali developed during her stay on the old Normandy that would let him hack and scan the contents. He'd already been through some of it but it was mostly encrypted which was expected. Back channel communications would take a few minutes to process since it required Anderson to get alone before he could accept the call. With time to spare he left the desk behind moving to the far side of the room to a storage crate he dropped off the last time he was here.

This box pretty much contained all his personal possessions that weren't lost on the Normandy. Having been a career man in the Special Forces all his adult life didn't give him a lot of time to accumulate things and the contents inside the half empty box showed that. A few mementos from his more sentimental times early in his career aside from a small metal box maybe six inches long by four inches deep.

Shepard moved back to the desk while opening the box. Inside were two small cylindrical bits of tech. His old Omni Tool before he upgraded to the Savant X. This was also a Savant but an MK IX and up until they hit the Mu Relay it was the Omni Tool he used through most of the campaign against Saren. He slotted the device into his arm before bringing up his Omni Tool checking its contents. Everything was still there just as he remembered it. His old loadouts, programs, Specter files but he'd go through it later to update it.

Next he turned his attention to the other object. Back when he got it, this bit of tech was experimental. A Savant X Biotic Amp. He sat for several moments just looking at it. He picked it up at Liara's insistence but never used it. At the time he shied away from it, using the excuse that it wouldn't work right with his L3 Implant. He would spike a lot higher than he did with his old one but it would leave him with nightmarish migraines according to the research data of the day. Judging by the records the Cerberus Operative Miranda gave him they replaced his old implant which was damaged when he was spaced with an experimental L5n. Shepard looked at the terminal checking again the compatibility data between the two. If he installed the amp it would practically double his power while also halving the drain on his body. He could also use it now with no side effects. He sat looking at it knowing any other human biotic wouldn't think twice about slapping it into their skulls but he still didn't touch it. He could still hear Roland's words…

He was broken from his thoughts by the VI. "Connection Established."

Shepard turned to face the vid screen. It was comical to see the look of stunned surprise on his old friend's face. "My God..."

He straightened his back and snapped a crisp salute but couldn't keep his amusement completely hidden. "Something tells me I had best get used to that reaction. Good to see you too, Sir."

His words didn't quite break the older man's stupor. "I didn't expect I would ever see you again Shepard. Especially after I attended your funeral."

"Did you have a body to bury Sir?" Shepard inquired very interested.

Anderson blinked before he shook his head answering. "No, no we didn't. Joker's report stated you were spaced before you could get into the bridges escape pod. It was ruled you must have fallen into the planet's atmosphere with the rest of the Normandy's wreckage. The odds of a body surviving re-entry were astronomical. No search was made."

Shepard leaned back into his seat. He really wasn't sure how to take that yet. He held up the data pad he brought with him from the station. "According to this; it, well _I_ was recovered by mercs a week later from orbit. I guess there really isn't any way to confirm it now."

Both men looked at each other for an awkward moment before Anderson spoke. "There's really no way to ask this question delicately Shepard so I'll just say it. How is it I'm talking to a dead man?"

Shepard grimaced. "Cerberus. Their leader put together a team to bring me back. Best as I can tell I am John Shepard. Memories are intact except for the last week before the Normandy was destroyed. I'm not exactly 'stock' anymore. Maybe twenty kilo's tech heavy, but still me. One of the reasons I contacted you has to do with that." He typed in a few keys before uploading the data over their feed. "I'm sending you everything they did to resurrect me. You could say I'm looking for a second opinion."

"The other reason I'm contacting you has to do with why Cerberus brought me back. Their leader calls himself the 'Illusive Man'. Short term he wants me to discover what is happening to our colonies in the Terminus Systems. Long Term, help him fight the Reapers. He's pretty convinced no one is doing anything about them. I've been dead, so I don't really know what is going on. I only woke up eighteen hours ago but I can say I'm not fond of what I've been told or what I'm seeing so far."

"That's a lot to take in all at once Shepard."

The ex-Specter snorted. "Try waking up to this. I died two years ago and at that time we stood united against the Reapers. Now I get revived by an organization which stands for everything I don't believe in. It turns out they're the only ones who believe me that the threat is real. Of all people Cerberus is the only one willing to do something about it. He's pretty confident that the Reapers are somehow involved in the missing colonies. I'm leaning that way myself."

His mentor sighed. "I've tried to get them to see reason but what it comes down to is they're scared."

Shepard nodded seriously. "They should be. I'm fucking terrified. Thanks to that Prothean Cypher I have burned into my brain I know exactly what's coming. In detail."

"I know but after Shep…you died nothing happened. Life kept going and we couldn't dig up anything to substantiate your claims. We tried Shepard."

"Alright. So then we need proof. Something they can't ignore. I can do that. Get me a ship and crew." Shepard stated confidently.

He'd known Anderson for years and could easily see the hesitation in his face. "You know I can't do that Commander."

"I'm not asking for a fleet or a dreadnought Anderson. Something fast and quiet will be just fine. Hell, just give me enough supplies to run us for a few weeks and I'll supplement the rest until the mission is done. I've done it before."

"It's not a matter of wanting to Shepard. You should know that. The council has the Alliance tied down tight. Even if I wanted to, there's no way I can divert anything for this much less put it in your command. You're still listed as Killed in Action. You're no longer in the Alliance or a Specter."

Even if he half expected this reaction he still had to fight not to grit his teeth. "Okay fine. How about just getting me Joker and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. If I have too I can get a ship on my own one way or the other but I'll need a good pilot and someone to watch my back."

"Shepard, Joker's no longer in the Alliance. He was asked to retire for 'health reasons' about a year and a half ago. He dropped off the grid a month later. As far as _LT _Williams, she's on special assignment at the moment. N7 Operations. You know better than most what that means."

"Yeah, I do." Shepard was quiet for a few moments. "Just for the record, when I get hard evidence?

"I'll personally ram it down Spartcus's throat until he chokes 'Uncle'." Anderson seriously vowed.

He couldn't help it and laughed. Just the image of Anderson holding down the surly Turian while shoving a data pad down his mouth while screaming at him to say 'Uncle' was hilarious. It did a lot to dispel the gloomy thoughts that had taken root. "I'm going to hold you to that."

He reached over to disconnect the feed. "What are you going to do Shepard?"

"Get Proof." This time Shepard did cut the connection. By the time he walked into the bathroom his mood had fallen somber. In the reflective glass of the mirror he really took in his appearance. His mind awhirl with all he had learned since his resurrection. Unbidden his mind slipped into an old memory. It was a defining moment that shaped his life from that point on. Some people were shaped by events in their lives, some people shaped events. The memory that slowly overtook him was, for him, both. It was every bit as clear as if he had lived it yesterday and not almost sixteen years ago.

_He felt the body slam against him from behind. Spinning quickly he barely managed to catch the falling form of the young man who was the only one left fighting with him against the slavers. As he lowered Roland to the dirt he took notice of the four wounds that stitched diagonally through his girlfriend's brother's chest._

_The world around him fell away as he tried to comfort the young man in his final moments. Distantly he could still hear the sounds of mass effect rounds impacting around their poor cover, the shouts of the Batarian Slavers and explosions but it was just white noise to the choking gurgle of the man in his arms. After a few attempts the surprisingly strong grip of the dying man grabbed his shirt front pulling him closer._

"_I fucking hate you Shepard. You're a biotic freak… A monster… but you're OUR monster… I don't care what you have to do, I don't care if you die… you don't let them get my sister..."_

He remembered looking up at the Batarian Slaver when he grabbed his shoulder. Seeing his own imperfect reflection in his eyes. The waves of dark energy that wildly whipped around him. To this day he couldn't remember much after that moment but he read the reports. It was a massacre. After that day he always resisted fully exploiting his ability's.

His mind still half focused inward Shepard looked at the long shaggy head of hair. He hadn't has his hair longer than a high and tight since he enlisted. The cybernetics holding his skin together still showed their baleful reddish light. It was especially noticeable in the scar that ran through his left eye down his cheek. The questions surrounding his nebulous resurrection started falling away from his mind. Burned away by the decisive nature he exhibited throughout his military career. There was a lot of work to do and a mission to accomplish.

With none of his earlier hesitation Shepard reached behind his head removing the dermal plug carefully inserting the Savant. The sound of the cutting shears filled the small room a moment later.

'_I'll admit I was angry for days after I woke up in that Lazarus Station. I was pissed at the Council, the Alliance, Cerberus, and even at myself. All the spilt blood, the pain, the sacrifices during the war before I died was for nothing. Man or Monster, it didn't matter anymore. I wasn't going to let the Reapers take us without a fight. No matter if it meant I had to shake hands with the Devil. Even if I had to stand alone.' Excerpt from Commander Shepard's autobiography, 'Notes on the Run'._

**Authors Note:**

Thank you all for reading and Please Review.


	4. Getting Started

**Ye Old Disclaimer:**Mass Effect and associated milieu, characters, and situations are owned by EA, Bioware, Microsoft and their licensees. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended. They own it all, I am just playing with the Story. No money is being made by me in any way shape or form.

Beta's:

Beta'd with the help of Player4ever and Materia-Blade.

Chapter 4, Getting Started

"_Really, there isn't much Shepard wouldn't do to help people. Take a bullet for a friend? Sure. Throw himself over unarmored strangers? Absolutely. Get blown up to shield a ex-enemy? Without thinking. It never mattered what your race was, who you were, or what your past was. That was Shepard. That was my Brother in all but blood."_

_Remark attributed to Garrus Vakarian to a group of Alliance Marines after Shepard's Funeral._

_She stood before the door to her Captains quarters. Her Captain. Her human Captain. Her human Captains quarters. She drew a shuttering breath. O Keelah. What was she getting into? Tali'Zorah nar Rayya continued to stand before the door silently running her hands down along her clans _neryia_. The nerve simulators of her gloves lightly yet imperfectly rendering the sensation through her fingers as they passed the various stitches that comprised the patterns which told of her clans histories. The sensation usually was a calming one for the girl who had been so far from her home for so long but was completely ignored due to her current dilemma. When Shepard invited her to join him earlier it didn't occur to her the implications of what it could mean until later when she overheard Ashley and Liara talking. They didn't know she was there but she heard what they were saying._

_ It was stupid. There was no way Shepard could feel the way they suggested he did for her. First she was a quarian. An imunio deficient alien trapped in a suit she couldn't leave except in a clean room and unless she wanted to get sick, only alone. Second, she was not just another species, she was a completely different amino make up. Even if he didn't get sick doing...anything like that, she would. If she could even survive the exposure much less... that. She, like everyone else aboard the Normandy, knew of the subtle competition between the two for Shepard's affections. Garrus even had a betting pool on which would be the first to bed the Commander but so far there was no clear winner. As for her, she wasn't even a contender. Though to her knowledge he never invited either of them to his quarters..._

_ She shook her head. No. Silly girl dreams of things she couldn't have. If there was one thing her Pilgrimage taught her it was that there existed far more to life than she would ever get to know personally. She suspected that was the true meaning behind the pilgrimage. It showed each young quarian what everyone else in the galaxy could have but they couldn't. It exemplified the fact that quarians only had each other to rely on. Between the racial discrimination every species had toward her people to the fact that no one but a quarian could understand what living in a suit for life truly meant. To face all that, to live with it without the comforting protection of the Fleet was hard enough, but then to be expected to return with something of value to earn the right to return... She sighed deeply. Was it no wonder that when a pilgrim returned they never strayed far from the Fleet?_

_ Then again, if all pilgrims had Captains like hers, would anyone return at all?_

_ Once again she checked over her shoulder afraid someone would catch her standing at the door to Shepard's Quarters. The Mess was empty as third watch just started. Everyone was either bunked in a sleeping pod, or about duties elsewhere. Before her courage could fail her she touched the door indicator as confident as she could be that no one would see her in her moment of taboo indiscretion. She bounced on her toes a few times waiting and thankfully didn't have to wait long before the door opened showing her Captain's warm smile._

_ He greeted her warmly. "Hey. I was worried you weren't going to show."_

_ She ducked her head slightly as she entered the forbidden confines of her Captain's quarters. It was way bigger than the singles accommodations on the Migrant Fleet. Six quarians would be living in the same space Shepard lived in alone. He even had a bed. In the Fleet there would have been padded bunks stacked three high along the same walls his bed took. Shepard led her over to a small table she assumed served as a workstation for him. On one of the two desks he had were stacks of data pads. She couldn't even imagine all the work it took to run a ship like the Normandy. "Um... we, that is Chief Adams and I were, you know, um, running a detailed check on the drive core. Chief Adams thought it best because of some unusual emissions we detected as we came out of the Omega 1 Relay. And really, you can't be too careful and we were going to do one anyways in a few days. Um, routine check... and I'm babbling and I'm sorry it's just a nervous habit I have sometimes when I'm nervous and... um..."_

_ Tali felt much more at ease when Shepard started chuckling. It wasn't mocking but good natured. Even if he couldn't see it she smiled behind her visor. "Relax Tali. Adams told me that you mentioned you were thinking of returning to the Fleet." She was looking into his strange eyes. Was that sadness? It was so hard to tell with humans. "As much as I don't want you to go, I understand."_

_ She giggled nervously at his admission. She couldn't help the thoughts rampaging around in her mind while her fingers tangled and danced in front of her. "It's just, thanks to you I've had my gift for a while now." She drew in a shuttering breath. A rebellious side she didn't know she had seemingly taking control of her words. "I've thought...you know, about not going back. Maybe just sending the data or finding a courier..."_

_ She felt it then. That subtle _feeling_. Her eyes darted to the readout in her visor that showed the internal temperature of her suit was set to its usual standard but it was suddenly stifling. A few times when they had been in close quarters, working on the Mako or one of their late night chats at the Mess she felt this. It usually came when she would notice something about him. His broad chest. Strong calloused five fingered hands. The powerfully built muscled arms and back just begging for her to run her nails along... _

_ Or his ass. O Keelah did she truly appreciate that aspect of his physic. Heavily muscled, firm, powerful... Tali gulped feeling her skin flush from her thoughts. Unaware of what her mind was imagining Shepard turned around walking to the back of his room. He bent over to retrieve something that was sorted in footlocker unknowingly giving her a view of something that fueled her hormone addled brain into overdrive. What she wouldn't give to be able to run her hands over his form. To truly feel his presence against hers. The touch of his skin along hers... to taste the very air he breathed as he took in hers..._

_ Ancestors forgive her, but she never wanted anything in her life as much as she wanted this human in front of her..._

_ "I can't say I wouldn't like that." In a blind moment of panic she wondered if she vocalize her thoughts aloud. She didn't, did she? No, no his expression hadn't changed from before. She blinked widened eyes several times to bring her mind back into the present and out of fantasies that spun about him. "Still, I know how important your people are to you. But I wouldn't feel right if you left and didn't have something to remember us all by."_

_ She took the still frame photograph he handed her. She easily remembered when it was taken. It was just after the Battle. Wrex stood with his arms folded in front of him slightly turned away from the camera. A disgruntled look on his face from the sentimentality they were indulging in. Garrus sat on top of the overturned Mako with his sniper rifle pointed upward. Liara and Ashly stood with their backs to the broken vehicle. Then there was Shepard and her in the middle. She was holding him upright since he hadn't had the time to get his ribs looked at yet. The background showed the burning wreckage that was the Presidium at the time but all of them were smiling inanely despite the devastation around them. Battle armor scorched and broken in places. Fresh from their victory over Sovereign and Saren._

_ "Shepard..."_

_ She looked up from the picture and into his eyes. There was something there, a funny glimmer that she didn't understand but had seen more and more in the last week. It was a look he only gave her when they were alone and a look she had never seen him give to anyone before. She couldn't understand it now any better than she had the other times she tried too. It was maddening to her, like a word she knew but couldn't remember how to say. Just sitting there hidden just behind her conscious mind. She could see it but its definition was just beyond her ability to grasp. "Just thought you would like to remember your Pilgrimage Family... I don't think any of us will be able to forget you. I know I won't Tali..."_

_ Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke. "Promise me something?"_

_ His face contorted a bit in confusion. "Sure."_

_ "Promise me that no matter what happens, we'll see each other again."_

_ She watched as Shepard's face lit up and he smiled widely. "Absolutely. Anytime you need me, I'll be there."_

The shuttle rocked hard enough to slam her helmet into the bulkhead instantly and painfully waking her up. Her eyes focused on the sheepish form of their pilot of the two hundred year old shuttle. "Sorry Ma'am. Stabilizers went out as soon as we hit the atmosphere. Not surprising really, she's an old ship."

Tali nodded. It was for the best. She hated sleeping. Her dreams were always filled with images that hurt far too much to face. The night terrors reliving the last moments were worse, but not by much. She never should have asked Joker to tell her. With a flick of her eyes to the pupil controls in her visor she activated her auditory transmitter. She learned long ago to keep it turned off when she was asleep. Her roommates usually slept better that way. "That's alright Reenah. I probably should have woken up some time ago. How long until we get to the Human Colony?"

"Not long. Still no answers to any of our attempts to communicate. No traffic anywhere we can see. If it wasn't for the automated VI giving landing instructions I wouldn't believe there was anything down there."

Tali frowned behind her mask. "I don't like this."

She heard the smug voice of the squad leader for the Marines attached to her unit. "Don't worry Tali'Zorah. My men and I will protect you."

Tali narrowed her eyes at the irritating quarian. "Prazza'Mal, I have more kills notched into my shotgun than you can falsely boast of. From Krogan Battle Masters to Geth Primes. Unless you wish to find out what a cluster round of superconducting projectile's feels like, you will shut your mouth." She rammed her shoulder into his as she passed him heading into armory at the back of the shuttle. As she passed through the door she could hear the snickers and laughter coming from the other marines at the latest failure in his attempts to court her. This was going to be the last mission she allowed herself to work with the _bosh'tet _if she had any say.

XxXME2XxX

"This is a mistake. If you would have let me implant the control chip our mission would have already started."

The enigmatic man sat in his chair with a poorly hidden look of amusement on his face at his operatives frustration. "The goal of Project Lazarus was to revive Commander Shepard exactly as he was before he died. The project is an unqualified success Miranda. You should be pleased."

The Illusive Man took a long drag from his cigarette watching her eye twitch. She'd been this way since Shepard left the day before. "Yes we succeeded in bringing him back. However we have not been able to run any tests on him since we lost Lazarus Station. We do not know the extent of our success. So far I am less than pleased with the results. Also, what are we supposed to do with the Normandy Cell? Final shakedown has been completed. Everything is well within design specifications except for the fact that our commanding officer is God knows where."

"You worry too much Miranda. Shepard is nothing if not dedicated to fighting the Reapers." He raised his glass of bourbon to his lips taking in one of the many vid screens that regularly updated him to various enterprises that comprised their organization. "Once he's confirmed what we told him we will proceed with Phase Two. Which should be any time now as his shuttle just docked with _Depot-Argus 34._"

The Illusive Man had to control his reaction to Miranda's utterly stunned appearance. It wouldn't do for him to laugh at her expense. Never before in their partnership had he seen anyone rile the otherwise cool and collected operative like Shepard did. "Shepard's back?" Miranda's eyes narrowed before she accused, "You knew where he was all this time even when he disabled the transponder for the shuttle."

He waved aside her observation. "Of course. One of our observation cells intercepted his encrypted communication from Intai'sei to Councilor Anderson at the Citadel moments after it was made. We haven't been able to crack it but there wasn't any need too. Very resourceful of him. We knew he had bolt holes somewhere however our efforts never bore any fruit in finding them. Evidence of his resourcefulness is encouraging as well as reassuring." The flashing indicator for an incoming QEC started winking. "If you will excuse me Miranda."

As he cut her feed he allowed himself a chuckle. To take the sting out of his dismissal he allowed the Normandy's QEC to continue receiving while opening the incoming communication from the depot Shepard was at. It would allow her to see for herself that there was nothing to be concerned about. It only took moments for Shepard's image to resolve in front of him. Shepard was dressed in a set of impressive body armor. Heavy nonreflective black, sharp angles, veined in a pulsing blue. It was easily recognizable to him but even he was impressed with further evidence of Shepard's resourcefulness over acquiring a modded set of armor this quickly. Especially from a backwater colony such as Intai'sei. The only explanation was it must have been a prototype he acquired before he died. If he remembered correctly there were quite a few people who owed him favors for actions he accomplished on their behalf during those days.

He gave the courtesy of looking into the dark azure eyes of the man before him. With his hair cut back into the iconic 'high and tight' of his old vid pictures he looked every bit the solider he was always reputed to be. "Welcome back Commander."

Shepard cut right to the chase. "So when do I get my thirty pieces of silver?"

Once again it took a great deal of his self-control to not laugh at the slightly hostile man before him. Instead he hid the grin he couldn't stop behind the act of lighting one of his cigarettes. "Apt Shepard, if a little dramatic. I take it you have decided to accept my offer?"

The ex-Specter grimaced. "Enough that I want to know what Cerberus is prepared to offer. I have conditions."

He blew out a cloud of smoke nodding. "Understandable. I am willing to put a ship and crew under your command. We have gone through great lengths to acquire the best operatives and techs to serve aboard her. Unlike when you were a Specter you will not need to concern yourself with paying them. Cerberus will handle that aspect gladly as well as any other needed financing we are able to. While you were away final shakedown has been completed and all is ready for you to take command. Currently it is fully armed and staffed. To end the threat to our colonies I am willing to bend all of Cerberus resources to the cause. As I told you before, this is a priority to us."

Shepard squared his shoulders to attention while raising his chin slightly. "If we are going to war, I will need more than just a ship. I'm going to need an army. Or a damn good team."

The Illusive man put down the empty glass he just finished drinking from. "We can help you with that. Miranda and Jacob are superb operatives you can rely on but you will need more than two people. In anticipation of your needs in this regard I have scouted out a variety of potentials. The best of the best that the galaxy has to offer. Some of them are unconventional but I am sure that won't be a problem for you Commander. It will be up to you convince them to join you. But you're a leader Shepard, this is what you do."

He enjoyed the surprise on Shepard's face when the abbreviated dossiers came up on screens around him. "A Krogan Warlord, A Salarian Scientist, A Turian Vigilante, and a Human Convict. I didn't expect you to offer aliens to the roster."

"Despite our reputation Commander, Cerberus has no problems working with non-humans. We are not the Terra Firma Party nor do we espouse the xenophobic beliefs they hold. We exist to protect Humanity no differently than any other agency found in any alien government. The Asari have the Commandos, the Salairans have the STG, the Turians have the Blackwatch and the Council has the Specters. Humanity has Cerberus. Similar to those just mentioned, we have no issue with working with other races but our primary goals are the safety and advancement of Humanity first, just as those other groups protect their individual races agendas first. I am also fully aware of your history Commander. The current situation requires the best we can field, and these are the best in their individual fields."

"A convict?" Shepard asked obviously skeptical over that specific choice.

The Illusive Man smiled slightly schooling his features to give nothing away. "A very powerful biotic, if a bit temperamental. Quite possibly the strongest human biotic known. I have full confidence in your abilities to convince them to work with us and to keep them in line. Success will depend on our ability to think and act unconventionally. Not an unfamiliar modus operandi for you Shepard."

He poured himself a drink while Shepard went over the dossiers he provided. Before he could take a sip one of his information nets began flashing looking for his attention. A lazy entered sequence allowed him to go over the details while Shepard was thinking. His programs embedded in the Migrant Fleet were responding to one of the few search filters his people managed to install. The only successful outcome over the _Idenna_ misunderstanding. He double checked his other monitoring resources but nothing else registered a hit. _Interesting..._

"Fine, I'll make the most of this. I expect the freedom to operate as I choose. I won't accept a handler in this venture."

"I expected nothing less Shepard. As I said I don't micro manage my people. As long as you're working for our common goals I see no reason to dictate how you handle business. I assume you would have no problems and understand why Ms. Lawson will be your XO?"

"I don't like it but I expected that at least." Shepard compromised.

The grey haired man smiled. It was always appreciated when people were accommodating. "Good. This command is yours to do as you wish Shepard. All our people have been briefed and know to expect it. I take it we have an agreement then Commander?"

A decisive nod answered his question. "I'll work _with _you but not _for_ you. You provide the Intel and I'll see it gets done. To be clear; my Command, my rules. I'll figure out what is taking our colonies and kill it. The rest we can sort out as we go."

"Agreeable Commander. And speaking of Intel, you might find this interesting. According to the report I have just received our colony of Freedom's Progress just went dark. This is more warning we have had so far. I would suggest heading there quickly. If we are lucky, you might get the drop on whatever is doing this."

"Sounds good. Where's this ship?"

"Docking bay A-3. I think you will be pleased with it. I even managed to get a pilot I think you will like. Good Luck Commander."

Taking a sip of his drink he watched as Shepard's image dissolved before reopening the full connection to Miranda. The connection had only half formed when she started talking. "Now do you appreciate what I have been attempting to tell you?"

"On the contrary Miranda. I didn't expect less from Shepard. Update me on the results of the investigation once the mission is complete. Shepard is in full command until I state otherwise. I would suggest putting aside your personal issues and learn to work with him."

He could see the obvious distaste in her face at his directives. "Yes sir."

XxXME2XxX

Shepard stepped through the airlock and on the ship that waited at airlock A-3. He caught a glimpse of it through the port but it wasn't until he stepped foot into the vessel that it really hit home. Somehow Cerberus rebuilt the Normandy. Not only rebuilt it but improved on its base design. It was almost twice the mass of the old Normandy. Just looking down to the CIC or the cockpit he could see huge changes in the design. How did they even get the specs for it? Was Cerberus's reach that far into the Alliance to be able to secure top secret ship plans?

"See, better than the old Normandy." stated the man beside him.

"Maybe." Shepard allowed while letting the careful steps of the pilot lead the way to the cockpit. "I haven't exactly had the tour yet. You look good Joker. I was worried when Anderson said you were missing. What happened?"

Joker snorted. "What didn't happen. After you got spaced they had Ashley and me with the rest of the surviving Alliance crew in lock down at Arcturus Station for a month while they looked into what happened. Garrus, Liara, and Tali they just cut loose on the Citadel as if they were hitchhikers we picked up on the way and not fucking heroes. I didn't see any of them until your funeral. It was real nice if you were wondering. Full honors, twenty-one gun salute, lots of media, flowers and flags. Big shots talking about you as if you were Jesus. Udina's speech was a tear jerker. Bet it got more ratings than Fornax's latest vid episode of _'Maidens gone Wild.'_"

"For the love of..." Shepard groused crossly.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too." Stated the snickering pilot while setting down into his chair. Shepard took the co-pilots chair to help with uncoupling from the station. Working in tandem as only two people who served together on a long campaign could do, they made short work of various tasks involved in the maneuver.

"Anyways after that no one wanted to hear anything about Reapers. You wouldn't believe how fast they flipped on us. The Alliance told us the 'truth' of what happened on our mission. When we argued bad things happened. In my case I was retired. Others weren't lucky enough to get that option. A couple of them ended up out right cashiered from service when they wouldn't budge in defending you or what actually happened. After a couple of us were made examples of, most of the old crew just faded into the background of whatever assignments they ended up getting."

The Normandy shuttered as it was released from the docking clamps. Joker's fingers blurred over his control panel as he manually maneuvered the ship away from the station. "What about the Ground Team? What happened to them?"

Joker sighed. "Man what a mess that was. I found out after your funeral when I talked to Tali and Garrus that Liara disappeared almost immediately. They didn't know what that was about and she didn't stick around long enough for me find out. Garrus said he tried to enroll in Specter training but was shot down. C-Sec wouldn't even give him his old job back. If you thought Quarians got a bad rap before Saren started using Geth to butcher people, you should have seen what happened after. Tali didn't talk much at your funeral. She seemed... well she didn't take losing you well as you can imagine. Garrus mentioned she didn't leave her room much before and then she went back to the Fleet right afterward."

Shepard frowned at the comment not really understanding the implied meaning. "And Ashley?"

Joker looked very uncomfortable at the question. A strange sight in his helmsmen who went out of his way to make taboo subjects his daily conversation starters. "Yeah... look don't shoot the messenger okay?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out Joker. What happened?"

The pilot sighed. "Williams flipped Shepard. Followed right along with the Alliance brass. Best as I could tell anyways. They told her the story they wanted her to believe, and that was what happened. She got into the N program not long after you died. She just got her officers commission when I decided I'd had enough of the shit and went civilian. I was already grounded so there really wasn't much left for me anyways."

"I'm sure there's more to the story than we know." Shepard stated before moving the subject away from that uncomfortable topic. He didn't want to believe that she would have sold him out for the chance at advancement but he knew how strongly she felt about her family name. The lure of breaking that stain on it would have been powerful for her. "So, you went civilian and Cerberus found you?"

"Well, kinda yeah. This company called Cord-Hislop Aerospace gave me a kick ass job offer. So I took it. I ended up on this station in the Voyager Cluster where they were building this Normandy. There I talked to old mysterious creepy eyes himself. Told me what they were going to do. You know, bring you back. For when they did we had to make sure you had a ship that wouldn't be taken by surprise like we were. So hell yeah I joined up. They let me fly and brought you back. They're really not all that bad. Except for Kelly, she kinda creeps me out a bit."

Finished with what he could do he sat back taking in everything Joker told him. With a deep sigh at how things were looking he decided to focus on one thing at a time. "How long to Freedom's Progress?"

"About forty-five minutes. It's in a relay system so it's a short trip."

"Do you know where the armory on this thing is?"

"Yeah, back of the CIC on the right." Shepard pulled himself out of the chair to make his way back there when Joker spoke again. "Hey Commander?"

He stopped and turned back to the helmsmen. "Yeah Joker?"

"Look, sorry about, you know, getting you spaced."

Shepard could tell by looking at him that this was something that had been weighing on him for a while. He asked with a slight smirk, "Did you kick me out into space Joker?"

The sorrowful look was replaced by an eye roll and sarcastic one. "Oh yeah, all part of my master plan. I figured if a Reaper couldn't do it I'd have something really big to brag about at the next Evil Minions Anonymous Meeting if I killed the Great Commander Shepard. How do you think I got into Cerberus?"

John laughed. "Then you have no reason to apologize Jeff. Hopefully we never find ourselves in that situation again to find out if either of us learned anything from it."

Shepard made his way to where Joker said the armory was located. Once he entered he found Taylor standing at one of the table's field stripping a shotgun. He walked over to the weapons rack taking note of the array of weapons. Or rather, the serious lack of weapons. He took down what looked like an Elkoss Combine Avenger except for the fact the decal was wrong and this was labeled as a M-8. It was the only assault rifle in the locker so he lifted it up to show Taylor. "A modern Avenger?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah, those pretty much became the standard for most military or merc groups after the thermal clip upgrade. It's pretty basic but that's part of its charm."

Shepard tossed the weapon onto a table while pulling down one of the sniper rifles. "Looks like the old Hammers I trained with back at The Villia."

"Yeah, I trained with those too in Basic. But that's actually a M-92 Mantis. Pretty sure they based it on the old Titan line."

Sighing Shepard placed it on the table with the other rifle. Titan made a great basic Sniper rifle but he was used to equipment on the upper end of the scale. The things he ended up tangling with were not something you wanted to try your luck on with basic weapons. He finally took up one of the shotguns giving it a once over. He didn't bother guessing just holding it up. "M-27 Scimitar. Patterned after the old Scimitar line."

Still holding the weapon he looked back inside the locker. "I don't see any mods or attachments in this locker. You keep them somewhere else?"

"Ahh, no Shepard. What you see is pretty much what we got. Standard Cerberus Ship Pack."

He stood looking at the large man for a moment without replying. "Seriously?"

A third voice broke into their conversation before Taylor could say anything. "These weapons are more than sufficient to do what we need to do Shepard."

John turned to look at his XO frowning. He watched as she picked up a pistol and a light machine gun. He decided not to argue with them. He would figure it out later. "Joker said we should be ready to drop in about forty minutes. You two should get your armor on. Meet in the shuttle."

She raised an elegant eyebrow. "I'm wearing it."

He took in the skin tight outfit the woman seemed to favor. "You're fucking joking."

He didn't turn at Taylor's snort of amusement but he noticed Lawson's eyes narrow. "Is there a problem Commander?"

He just shook his head. "So, neither of you have any actual combat armor for ground missions? What do you plan to use to stop bullets? Your winning smile and sunny disposition? Because there is no way you're going to convince me that your breasts and ass are listed as an anti-ballistic defense alternative."

Shepard couldn't help but notice the woman seemed to have a twitch in her eye as she silently fumed. He wasn't sure if it was from his comments or from the barely held back laughter from the man behind them. "Both Jacob and I have state of the art personal Kinetic Barriers systems. They will be more than sufficient for our purposes."

He threw his hands up before he loaded his own weapons onto his back. "No wonder you people were so easy to kill when I was hunting Saren. I haven't seen a Charlie Foxtrot of this caliber since my training days. Fine. Gear up and meet in the Shuttle. When I get back I guess I'll have to check with your Illusive man to see how much credit he has with Badass R Us. We keep going like this I'm going to need replacement personnel."

XxXME2XxX

"Its like a Derelict."

Tali nodded her head agreeing with Am'ria. The female quarian standing next to her was skittish looking around pointing her pistol at shadows. Tali looked back down to console she was hacking but there was nothing to explain what had happened to the colony of over four thousand humans. It was as if every living soul in the place just vanished all at once. Unnerving didn't cover how the situation was making her feel. It reminded her far too much of those horror vids Joker loved so much. Tali's hands stopped moving at the unwelcome reference. She took a cleansing breath pushing the pain the memory gave her back down before she opened her comm link to her teams. This was not the time for those thoughts.

"Team two, status."

She continued to data mine the console while she listened to the report. "Nothing Ma'am. Empty buildings. Everything is still here except for the humans. No signs of Veetor."

"Team three, anything?"

Prazza's voice sent a shiver of revolution through her. Last mission ever she told herself. Never again. "Human food laid out. Some of it half eaten. We even found a few screens still running programs or showing vids someone was watching but no sign of the humans who turned them on."

She closed the terminal. There was nothing here. She was sure the administrations computers would have offered something. "Alright. Keep checking buildings and rooms but make your way over to the Security Annex. Am'ria and I are making our way there now. Be careful, whatever did this might still be around."

"Doubtful." Prazza argued.

"Regardless Prazza, do as I told you."

She closed the com link down muttering to herself. "I hate him. Never again."

Am'ria looked over to her. Her eyes lit in mischief clearly seen even through her own dark blue visor. "He's been bragging to anyone who will listen that he will Mate with you sooner or later. He's very taken with you Tali'Zorah."

Tali shook her head walk marching through the door. "I'll shoot him first. The man is revolting."

"You can't deny he is a good match though. Strong, confident, and very popular with the Marines. Rumor has it that he's next in line for Captain's training of the Neema. Yul'renai isn't getting any younger and she has already started looking for a protégé."

"If Prazza becomes captain of the Neema I will go on a second Pilgrimage and change ships. I would rather take off my mask in a room of Vorcha than serve under or..." Tali choked on the words, "_Mate_ with Prazza'Mal."

The young barely post pilgrimage woman next to her laughed hysterically while they walked past the open doors to the Security Annex. "O come now Tali. Prazza is not all that bad. Nerra in medical said he is very easy on the eyes. She took peek when he was in there last month for that suit breech he got on Omega." The girl shared conspiratorially.

"You both are welcome to him. Please, I'll even pay you. Anything for him to leave me alone." Tali shot back almost begging.

Any rebuttal by the gossiping girl was lost when the huge doors behind them slammed shut. Both jumped at the noise. Before Tali could hack the door to open it again she heard something that chilled the blood in her veins.

Metallic whirling of a mech unpacking followed by a burst of super-heated steam erupted from behind them. Both slowly turned around to take in the hulking metallic construct that had only one purpose in existence. To kill everything and anything in front of it.

The synthesised voice rang loudly confirming the fears both quarians had at the sight before them. Next to her Tali could hear the fearful curse of her friend just moments before as her own eyes narrowed.

"O Keelah..."

"_Online."_

XxXME2XxX

Shepard lowered the assault rifle while the aerial assault drone spat fire and smoke on its way to the ground. So far these mechs were no better than the ones Cerberus employed. Even with the two Cerberus Operatives at his side they were more than a match for the colonies defenses. He just hoped their luck held out. So far they managed to traverse most of the main hub of the colony with minimal resistance. At the moment he could see Lawson hacking into the console that would allow them to enter the Security Annex. The only hope they had of shutting down the mechs would be there. Going form firefight to firefight didn't allow a lot of time to investigate.

From this side of the door he could hear explosions and gunfire. He looked to Lawson and resisted the urge to hurry the woman along. It would just distract her and delay them longer than it was already taking. However the sounds of a fierce firefight were welcome to the ex-Specter. Someone was alive and fighting. Whether it was whatever had done this or survivors, anything was better than the nothing they had come across so far.

He looked over to dark skinned human. The man seemed the decent sort. Kept his cool under fire and knew how to wield that shotgun of his. A good solider but for the life of him Shepard couldn't understand what he was doing with Cerberus. He just didn't seem the type. Shepard sighed inside the helmet of his hardsuit. Like he had any right to judge. Lawson now, she fit the profile to a T. As his XO, that bothered him more than just a bit. Still the woman was tough as nails. Looking at the tear in her suits arm where a bullet form one of the LOKI's managed to get through her barriers. She never even flinched. Still had she been wearing armor it wouldn't even be an issue...

"Got it!" the woman triumphantly stated as the doors started to open up.

All three of them threw themselves away to avoid the missile that streaked through the opening doors. Shepard rolled over watching it detonate against one of the prefab buildings behind them shattering windows and blowing a hole in the wall.

_"Enemy reinforcements detected. Initiate final repulsion phase."_

"That sounds bad." Taylor stated wryly.

Lawson smirked to her fellow operative. "It usually is Jacob."

He couldn't help it and laughed as they all grabbed cover inside the annex. He could see two of those hulking mechs raining rounds into the prefab buildings at either side. In the back, he could see a third unpacking. "This is just part and parcel for a Normandy Ground team Op. Hence why everyone is supposed to wear armor and have better than basic weapons!"

Still chuckling he ignored the eye roll from Lawson while he assessed the battlefield. Defending combatants were in each wing building. He could see tracers from at least three snipers raining into the machines. While he took in the environment he got a good look at one of the defenders when they leaned out one of the broken windows. A long arm and glowing Omni Tool was connected to a suited person. He didn't recognize the individual suit but there was only one species in the galaxy that wore suits like that.

"Alright, we have Quarian defenders against the Mechs. So we are taking on the mechs. Pick a target, we got plenty." Shepard ordered.

The two operatives nodded before leaning out of cover and joining in the fight. Shepard held up his arm that was a whirl of dark energy. He thrust his fist forward sending the chaotic distortion streaking toward the mech on his right. However, instead of shredding the armor of his target as he expected he could barely see any distemper in the things armor even if it did seem to stagger it for a step.

"What the Hell!?" He yelled in frustration pulling up his Avenger and raining rounds into the mech. That one phrase was quickly becoming his mantra since waking up.

Taylor yelled back while loading in a fresh thermal clip into his Scimitar. "Commander?"

"My Biotics aren't working like they are supposed to! They were working fine just a few minutes ago on the LOKI's."

It was Lawson that cleared up his confusion. "It still has shields Shepard. Biotics are ineffectual against Kinetic Barriers. There harmonic frequency's disrupt Mass Effect fields!"

"Since when? I've put a god damn geth Colossus on its ass with my biotics before and you don't get better shields than on a Geth!" He turned to look at the Cerberus Operative who was looking at him as if he was five. He blinked before raping the back of his head against his cover. "Right. Dead." Shepard blew out a breath before switching his strategy. Before he could open up on the synthetic again he saw the streaking missile from the enemy in the back.

Immediately he turned and threw himself over his other two squad members pulling them to the ground. The explosion tore through his kinetic barriers as well as his biotic barrier but thankfully the armor held. Shepard grunted pulling himself back behind their cover ignoring the stunned looks from the Cerberus Operatives at his actions. He reapplied the protective mass effect field around him before checking to make sure the mechs were where he thought they were. "Okay then, Beta-Styx!" He called out.

While he waited he emptied his clip into the brute. Steady gunfire flashed against its shields from inside the prefab showing that at least one of the defenders was still in the fight. He pulled back behind cover slapping in a fresh clip into the rifle. "Come on! Beta-Styx!"

"What the bloody hell is 'Beta-Styx?'" Lawson shouted at him.

He turned slightly to see both Operatives looking at him strangely before it registered to him the maneuver was something unique to his old ground team. "Fucking Cerberus..." he muttered to himself rolling his eyes. "Lift the damn crate!"

Both operatives blinked before throwing their might behind his order. The crate he was using for cover shifted slightly which was all he needed. He dropped the M-8 pulling both hands at his sides while he put all the biotic energy he could create behind the building storm in his hands. With a thrust forward he discharged the field into the affected crate and watched with satisfaction as it shot forward at an incredible rate. The impact shattered the kinetic barriers of the target while also careening it head first into wall of the prefab before it's altered trajectory knocked the one that just unpacked onto its back.

"Deal with the one on the left, I'll handle these two!"

He ignored the shouts of his squad as he stormed to the closest mech. As strange as it was for a moment he thought he could feel the cybernetics in his legs kick in giving him even more speed. By the time he reached the downed brute it had only managed to get one arm under it to raise itself up slightly.

With a battle cry he jumped into the air putting all his might into creating a massive biotic field around his right arm. As he descended he swung his arm downward into one of the only weak points that all bi-pedal organics and synthetics shared without fail. The back of the knee joint. The strike almost sheared the leg off from the mech while also causing it to lose its tenuous balance falling back to the floor.

He looked to the third Mech that his squad was raining rounds into along with whoever was holding the building on the other side of the area. Shepard's body burst into chaotic swirls as he reached out grabbing a smaller crate to hurl at it. His momentary distraction allowed the synthetic at his feet to grab a hold of the wall in an effort to pull itself back onto its feet. Before it could pull off that maneuver the ex-specter grabbed the half shattered leg. With a biotically assisted pull, he dropped it back onto its face while also tearing off its leg.

Never one to look a gift weapon down the barrel, he made instant use of the mech's leg. With barely a thought he created a mass effect field around the makeshift club and started raining down crushing blows onto the synthetic brute. Each strike rang its deadly metallic gong. He was sure it couldn't have much more left when it suddenly rolled over on is back faster than he would have given it credit for pointing its left arm at him. Shepard's eyes opened wide when the tri clawed hand opened showing the nose of an armed missile in the palm.

He cursed as he threw himself to the side barely in time for the deadly projectile to shoot skyward. He swung once more and laughed when the units baleful red optics flickered before fading out. Shepard's victory was short lived as he was staggered back a step by the gattling rounds of the other one in front of him. Both barriers broke before he could grab the dead mech at his feet to hold as a shield. Shepard grimaced in pain from a round that got through his armor before the suits medical utilities automatically injected him with a cocktail of pain killers and medigel. He held the course against the deadly storm being sent his way until he heard the whine of the weapon sputtering out of ammunition.

Knowing he wasn't going to get a better chance, he pulled the Scimitar from behind his back and started pumping rounds into the mech. On the third shot its shields burst. Not wasting any time, he threw down the shotgun and directed a piercing mass effect field directly into the broken chest plate of the hulking bit of machinery. Hurricane force dark energy struck the staggering synthetic lifting it up and throwing into the far wall with enough might to cause the ground the slightly tremble from the impact. Its optics instantly faded signifying it was out of the fight as well.

Shepard swayed from the drain on his system. He knew he was taxing even the Savant's ability's in this fight but he was more than happy with the results. He turned to check on his squads progress. In the time he dealt with these two they managed to do extensive damage to the last one. Sparks shot out from damaged electronics but he could tell from looking at his people they had run out of Thermal clips for their better weapons. Taxing already abused abilities further his right leg exploded in the blues and blacks of dark energy before he shattered the elbow joint of the Mech's arm that contained its missile payload. Hefting the heavy piece of machinery he added a field to hurl it directly into the final opponent. The makeshift javelin didn't need to pierce it to have the effect he wanted as it exploded in a pyromaniac's version of Heaven on contact.

"Shepard!"

He staggered slightly from exhaustion. The ex-specter looked at the husks of burning machinery scattered around the annex chuckling to himself. "You're a monster John." The words rang softly within the confines of his helmet before he raised his hand waving off his XO's concern speaking so she could hear him. "I'm fine. Just winded. Anyone hurt?"

He took in the slightly singed and banged up appearances of his crew. Neither looked like they took a critical round but both were in for a stint in the medbay. He hoped that the Illusive Man didn't skimp on the doctor. Shepard had a feeling this was going to be a recurring theme until they upgraded their gear.

Taylor walked toward him shaking his head. "All I can say is _damn,_ Shepard. You see the vids but it all looks like movie bullshit until you see the real deal."

"I agree. Very impressive Commander."

"_S...S, Shepard_?"

Shepard froze at the sound of the voice coming from behind him. It couldn't be. It had to be his fatigue messing with his hearing. Just because there were quarians here didn't mean she was here. He turned around slowly looking to the person who spoke.

It was improbable, but he was right. It was her. "Tali..."

_'There were moments in those early days after my resurrection when I wished I would have just taken up Marlene on her enticing offer to be an Engineer with her for ExoGeni and rebuild Mindoir. No one shooting at me all the time, no politics, none of the shit I've had to live through for the last several years. But then again, I wouldn't have made the friends I have. In retrospect, getting blown up or taking a bullet occasionally isn't really all that bad.' Excerpt from Commander Shepard's autobiography, 'Notes on the Run'._

**Authors Note:**

Thank you all for reading and Please Review.


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